2020 Subaru Legacy vs 2021 Toyota Prius

The 2020 Subaru Legacy was a car that balanced pragmatic sensibility with a touch of style. It had a handsome design, but it often struggled to stand out among its competitors. The front end, in particular, looked smaller and less bold compared to rivals like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Legacy's front-end design was practical, but it lacked the mainstream appeal Subaru seemed to be aiming for. Inside, the Legacy featured a massive 11.6-inch touchscreen, but many features were buried within the digital interface, making simple controls unnecessarily complicated. The base trim came well-equipped with features like remote keyless entry, Bluetooth connectivity, and dual 7-inch touchscreens with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Premium trim, which was tested, added 17-inch alloy wheels, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, and a power moonroof. Higher trims like the Sport, Limited, Limited XT, and Touring XT offered additional features such as adaptive LED headlights, a more powerful turbocharged engine, and full Nappa leather upholstery.

The 2021 Toyota Prius retained its iconic boomerang-shaped hood and roofline, a design that had become ingrained in its identity. However, this styling was not universally praised, even in the trendy 2020 Edition with blacked-out trim. The interior was also unconventional, with instrumentation mounted in the center of the dashboard and a toggle lever for the transmission. The Prius offered a range of trims, including L Eco, LE, XLE, 2020 Edition, and Limited, with an optional AWD-e system for the LE and XLE. The Prius Prime plug-in hybrid was also available. Despite its unusual design, the Prius provided the utility of a five-door hatchback, with prices ranging from $24,525 to $32,650.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy offered two engine options. The base, Premium, Sport, and Limited trims featured a 2.5-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine producing 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque. This engine was paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and standard all-wheel drive (AWD). The Legacy's powertrain was responsive, making it suitable for city driving, but it struggled to deliver strong performance at highway speeds. For those seeking more power, the Limited XT and Touring XT trims came with a 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer 4-cylinder engine generating 260 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. The Legacy's chassis offered precise cornering and refined ride quality, making it a pleasure to drive. The base engine achieved fuel economy ratings of 27 mpg city, 35 highway, and 30 combined, while the turbocharged engine delivered 24 city, 32 highway, and 27 combined.

The 2021 Toyota Prius prioritized fuel efficiency over performance. The L Eco trim achieved an impressive 56 mpg in combined driving, while other front-drive models earned 52 mpg combined. The AWD-e versions managed 49 mpg. The Prius paired a 1.8-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine with a 53-kilowatt electric motor, producing a total system output of 121 horsepower. The electric motor provided instant torque, making the Prius feel lively off the line. The Prius excelled in urban and low-speed driving situations, where it could operate in electric-only mode at speeds under 25 mph. The Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) platform contributed to the Prius's handling, offering a lower center of gravity and a more athletic feel. However, hard acceleration produced significant powertrain noise, and the steering lacked road feel. The Prius's regenerative braking system provided good pedal feel and modulation.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy offered solid trunk space for a sedan, with 15.1 cubic feet of cargo capacity. While it couldn't compete with crossovers in terms of cargo space, it provided ample room for passengers. The backseat offered impressive head- and legroom, accommodating taller passengers comfortably. The front seats were supportive, and the cabin featured deep door pockets for storage. However, the center stack's tray was small, making it challenging to plug in a USB cable.

The 2021 Toyota Prius, despite its small-car reputation, offered more interior space than expected. It could seat up to five people, with comfortable seats covered in Toyota's SofTex synthetic leather. The test vehicle featured an eight-way power driver’s seat, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel. However, the SofTex upholstery tended to trap sweat, making ventilated seats a desirable addition. The rear seats provided adequate foot room, legroom, and headroom for adults, but lacked air-conditioning vents. Cargo space varied by trim, with the rear hatch offering between 24.6 and 27.4 cubic feet of space, expandable to 47.9 to 50.7 cubic feet with the rear seats folded down.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy featured an 11.6-inch touchscreen with the Starlink infotainment system. While the icons were large and easy to read, the system's portrait orientation and buried controls made it frustrating to use. Adjusting basic settings like heated seats or climate controls required multiple steps. The base trim had a dual-screen setup with similar issues. Despite these drawbacks, the system had no lag-time or bugs, and it retained physical volume and tuning knobs.

The 2021 Toyota Prius came with a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that included stereo-volume and tuning knobs, as well as shortcut buttons to main-function menus. Standard features included Bluetooth, SiriusXM satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa compatibility. Higher trims like the Limited offered a 10-speaker JBL premium sound system, navigation, and a natural voice recognition system, paired with an 11.6-inch portrait-style touchscreen. However, the Limited's system did not benefit from the Android Auto upgrade. The digital instrumentation on the dashboard looked dated and lacked technological sophistication.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy came standard with Subaru’s EyeSight suite of driver-assistance features, including forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. EyeSight also featured an alert for when the car in front started moving, helping to prevent traffic backups. Other standard safety features included front- and side-impact airbags, traction control, a reversing camera, and a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

The 2021 Toyota Prius was equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 (TSS 2.0) as standard on all trims. This suite included adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go capability, forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane-centering assist, automatic high-beam headlights, and a road-sign recognition system. Higher trims added a blind-spot monitoring system with rear cross-traffic alert. Safety Connect services were also standard, offering features like automatic collision notification and emergency assistance. The Prius received favorable marks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) had not rated the 2021 model.