Legacy or Impreza?

Cake or pie? Puppy or kitten? Yellowstone or Yosemite? Legacy or Impreza? How are you supposed to decide between two great things? Whenever faced with a hard decision, no matter how wonderful the outcome, the trick is to get all of the facts and weigh those against your needs and preferences. Only then can you make those tough choices.

The 2015 Subaru Legacy and 2015 Subaru Impreza are both great vehicles with a lot to offer. If you're trying to decide between these two cars, you need to know what makes each of them special. Here's a look at the basic tier for both models.

2015 Legacy 2.5i

• The Legacy gets 175 horsepower from a 4-cylinder, 2.5-liter Boxer engine.
•  Up to 36 miles per gallon on the highway and 26 miles per gallon city.
•  A fuel tank that holds 18.5 gallons
• 104.6 cubic feet of passenger room
• 15.0 cubic feet of cargo room, although you can fold the back seats down for when you need to transport items that take up a lot of space.
•   STARLINK infotainment system integration
• Rear-vision camera
• Traction Control System that senses traction loss and applies brake force wherever necessary.
• Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive

2015 Impreza 2.0i

•  The Impreza has a 2-liter Boxer engine that puts out 148 horsepower.
• Although the Impreza has a smaller engine than the Legacy, it makes up for it with better gas mileage, getting 37 miles per gallon for highway driving and 28 miles per gallon for city driving.
•   Like the Legacy - and almost every Subaru vehicle - the Impreza comes with Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive and Traction Control System
• 14.5 gallon fuel tank.
• The Impreza is slightly smaller and weighs a full 500 pounds less than the Legacy. A lighter car means better fuel economy, and lower emissions of harmful gases.
•  It's a partial zero-emissions vehicle (PZEV). PZEV vehicles have zero evaporative emissions from its fuel system.
•  96.9 cubic feet of passenger room
•  12.0 cubic feet of cargo room, although the 5-door Impreza offers 52.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the back seats lowered.
•   Rear-vision camera
• STARLINK

Both the Legacy and the Impreza received Top Safety Pick+ ratings from the IIHS. They earned top marks in every category, including a superior rating for front crash prevention. Basically, you can't go wrong with either car. The Legacy is a little bigger with more power, while the Impreza is more compact and little more environmentally friendly.