2020 Subaru Legacy vs 2020 Honda Accord

The 2020 Subaru Legacy presented itself as a vehicle focused on pragmatic sensibility rather than flamboyant style. It carried a handsome yet somewhat understated design that struggled to stand out in a crowd of midsize sedans. Despite the presence of sharp angles and details, its overall aesthetic failed to make a bold impression. Compared to the rakish styling of the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, the Legacy appeared modest and less assertive. At first glance, some even mistook it for the smaller Subaru Impreza, especially given its seemingly compact front end.

From a practical standpoint, Subaru aimed for a conservative design but hinted at wanting to go mainstream. However, it fell short of distinguishing itself beyond the guise of a sedan version of the Outback. The interior welcomed drivers with a significant 11.6-inch touchscreen, which unfortunately buried too many features within its digital interface. Simple tasks like adjusting the climate controls became overly complicated.

The 2020 Legacy offered six trims, starting with a well-equipped base model and moving up to the Touring XT. The base trim included essential features like remote keyless entry, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Subaru EyeSight. The Premium trim, as tested, added 17-inch alloy wheels, an 11.6-inch screen, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and came standard with the All-Weather Package. Sport trim added racier exterior details and interior upgrades. Moving up to Limited included adaptive LED headlights and perforated leather seats. Limited XT and Touring XT trims featured a more powerful turbocharged engine and upgrades like dual tailpipes and a heated steering wheel.

Conversely, the 2020 Honda Accord was celebrated as one of the most stylish iterations in the model's history. It managed to balance mainstream family sedan practicality with an upscale, fastback appearance. The Sport and Touring trims, equipped with 19-inch wheels, enhanced the Accord's visual presence. Other trims featured various designs of 17-inch wheels, which were more cost-effective for long-term maintenance.

Honda offered the Accord in multiple trims: LX, Sport, EX, EX-L, and Touring, including a hybrid version. The test car, a Touring model, priced at $37,355 MSRP, featured Radiant Red paint and an Ivory interior. The interior boasted a convincingly luxurious feel with soft-touch materials and matte-finish simulated wood accents. Every touchpoint exuded quality, making it one of the most comfortable and premium-feeling cabins in its class.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy's performance was anchored by its 2.5-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine in the base, Premium, Sport, and Limited trims, generating 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque. Power was routed to standard AWD through a CVT with a manual mode and paddle shifters. This setup made the car quick off the line, suitable for city driving, but it struggled to reach highway speeds efficiently, accompanied by significant noise.

For those needing more power, the Limited XT and Touring XT trims offered a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer 4-cylinder engine, producing 260 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. This engine also used a CVT with manual mode and paddle shifters. The Legacy's chassis was commendable, with precise cornering and refined ride quality, but the auto stop-start system needed improvement, as it was quite jarring. Fuel economy for the base engine was 27 mpg city, 35 highway, and 30 combined, while the turbocharged engine saw 24 mpg city, 32 highway, and 27 combined.

The 2020 Honda Accord's performance was led by a turbocharged 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine making 192 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque, paired with a CVT and front-wheel drive. For those prioritizing fuel economy, the hybrid powertrain offered 212 horsepower and averaged 42.6 mpg during testing.

Performance enthusiasts could opt for the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine in Sport and Touring trims, delivering 252 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission. The Accord featured Economy and Sport driving modes and paddle shifters. The 2.0T turbocharged model was notably quick, though it struggled with traction due to its front-wheel-drive layout. Fuel economy in mixed conditions averaged 27.4 mpg, better than the EPA's estimate of 26 mpg.

The Accord Touring stood out with its adaptive dampers, balancing body control with ride comfort. It handled corners with precision and comforted occupants over pavement undulations. The steering was accurate, though slightly heavy, and brake performance remained strong but would benefit from better heat management in demanding scenarios.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy fell short in cargo capacity compared to crossovers, offering 15.1 cubic feet of trunk space, which was an improvement over the previous model but still less than small crossovers and hatchbacks. However, the Legacy excelled with its surprising backseat space. It provided ample head- and legroom, even accommodating taller passengers comfortably. Rear-seat amenities included in-door cupholders, a fold-down center armrest with cupholders, and rear USB ports. The front seats were supportive, and storage solutions within the cabin were generally practical, though some areas like the center stack tray could be more user-friendly.

In contrast, the 2020 Honda Accord provided an exceptional amount of interior space. When compared to rivals like the Toyota Camry, the Accord offered significantly more rear-seat legroom and cargo space. The Touring trim featured a 12-way power driver’s seat with excellent thigh support and both heating and ventilation. However, the front passenger seat lacked height adjustment. The rear seats were notably comfortable with substantial thigh support and a natural seating angle, complemented by wide doors for easy access. The Accord's trunk space was an impressive 16.7 cubic feet, accommodating large suitcases with ease, making it ideal for road trips. Inside the cabin, the Accord boasted ample storage, clear instrumentation, and ergonomically designed controls. The only downside was the absence of a handle to close the trunk lid.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy's technological advancements were hampered by its execution. The prominent 11.6-inch Starlink infotainment system, although visually impressive, complicated simple tasks. Adjustments for heated seats and climate controls required navigating through multiple steps, which was less convenient than traditional hard buttons and dials. While the system featured easy-to-read icons and no lag-time, the portrait orientation limited the usability of Apple CarPlay, scrunching it into a third of the screen. Starlink was also prevalent in all trims except the base, limiting options for those who found the system frustrating.

On the other hand, the 2020 Honda Accord featured an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, considered the best among Honda's offerings. It provided volume and tuning knobs, easy-to-access menu shortcuts, clear graphics, and logical steering wheel controls. The system included Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and text-messaging support. Starting with EX-L trim, a ten-speaker premium sound system became standard, and the Touring trim added HondaLink subscription services, Wi-Fi hotspot, navigation, and wireless device charging. However, the system lacked natural voice recognition, requiring specific prompts for voice commands.

The Touring trim also featured a head-up display visible even with polarized sunglasses, enhancing driver visibility and situational awareness. The Accord’s infotainment system overall balanced functionality with user-friendliness, making it one of the best in its class.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy featured the EyeSight suite of driver-assistance features as standard. This included forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and a unique alert system when the vehicle in front started moving. The EyeSight system used intuitive light signals on the dash for its alerts. Additionally, the Legacy came with front and side-impact airbags, traction control, a reversing camera, and a tire pressure monitoring system.

In contrast, the 2020 Honda Accord earned top safety ratings, being named a Top Safety Pick by the IIHS and receiving five stars in every assessment by the NHTSA. Every trim level of the Accord came standard with the Honda Sensing suite, which included forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, lane-centering assist, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, and a traffic sign recognition system. However, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert was reserved for Sport 2.0T and EX trims or higher. There were minor criticisms about the need for smoother adaptive cruise control and more reliable forward collision and lane departure warnings, as they sometimes triggered false alerts.