Overview

Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door wagon body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (front for the Honda and 4 x 4 in the case of the Subaru). The first one has a Honda-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 190hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 173hp engine designed by Subaru.

Safety

The fact that the Honda got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Accord offers a marginal difference of 7% more metal.

Reliability

Manufacturers have been building their reliability reputation for decades now and, generally speaking, it appears that Honda as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Honda with an average rating of 4.7, and models under the Subaru badge with 4.2 out of 5. The same official information place Accord as average reliability-wise, and Legacy is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as Accord rank it on average as 4.9, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 3.0 out of 5.

Performance & Fuel economy

Honda is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.2 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 220 kilometers per hour, 9km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Legacy, averaging around 8.6 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (33 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 14% difference compared to Accord.

Verdict

Honda is apparently more reliable, not too much, but just enough. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Accord beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. It all continues in the same direction, with Honda outracing its opponent in any situation possible, making it better choice for boy racers. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Honda. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.