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 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (rear for the Lexus and 4 x 4 in the case of the Subaru). The first one has a Toyota-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 214hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 156hp engine designed by Subaru.

The fact that the Subaru 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, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, when it comes to weight, a factor that most people underestimate, Lexus IS offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Lexus does have a slight advantage, all the models observed together. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Lexus with an average rating of 4.9, and models under the Subaru badge with 4.2 out of 5. Independent research findings rank IS as average reliability-wise, and Legacy is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Lexus IS rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Lexus is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.8 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 230 kilometers per hour, 22km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy the winner has to be Legacy, averaging around 9.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (30 mpg), in combined cycle. We can't ignore that 15% difference compared to Lexus IS.

Lexus appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. 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, Legacy offers much better overall protection, which launches it ahead of the other contender. From there things take a different direction, with Lexus offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. 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 Subaru. Anyway, that's the most objective conclusion I could've came up with and it's based solely on the information found on this website. Aspects such as design, practicality, brand value and driving experience are there for you to measure them out. Also, you could use the oportunity to find out which car, everything taken into account, would be the perfect choice for you in the eyes of the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.