2020 Subaru Legacy vs 2020 Volkswagen Passat

The 2020 Volkswagen Passat resembled its predecessors from 2012 to 2019, as well as the recently redesigned VW Jetta. It borrowed styling cues from the Jetta and applied them to the older Passat model. Inside, the Passat’s dashboard adhered to the previous car’s design, featuring a small 6.3-inch touchscreen infotainment screen. The interior was dominated by cheap, glossy plastic, but it was easy to clean. The Passat was designed to be user-friendly, with easy access, simple controls, and a budget-friendly price. It was available in four trims: S, SE, R-Line, and SEL, with the R-Line offering a sporty look and additional features.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy, on the other hand, had a pragmatic and sensible design. While it was a handsome car, it struggled to stand out compared to competitors like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Legacy’s front-end design felt small, almost resembling a compact Subaru Impreza. Inside, the Legacy featured a massive 11.6-inch touchscreen, but many controls were buried within the digital screen, making simple adjustments complicated. The Legacy was available in six trims: base, Premium, Sport, Limited, Limited XT, and Touring XT, with each trim offering a range of features and equipment.

The 2020 Volkswagen Passat was equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine, producing 174 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque. It used a 6-speed automatic transmission to power the front wheels. The Passat’s powertrain was simple, with no complex driving modes, making it easy to drive. The engine’s torque allowed the Passat to accelerate smoothly, although the transmission occasionally upshifted too eagerly. The Passat averaged 26 mpg in combined driving, just shy of the EPA’s 27-mpg rating. The steering was light and precise, and the brakes were effective, though the suspension tuning was less than ideal, resulting in a busy ride over rough surfaces.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy offered two engine options. The base, Premium, Sport, and Limited trims featured a 2.5-liter boxer 4-cylinder engine with 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque, paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and standard all-wheel drive. The CVT had a manual mode and paddle shifters for simulated “gears.” The Legacy’s base engine provided good city performance but struggled at highway speeds. The Limited XT and Touring XT trims came with a more powerful 2.4-liter turbocharged boxer 4-cylinder engine, producing 260 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque. The Legacy’s chassis offered precise cornering and a refined ride quality. The auto stop-start system, designed to conserve fuel, was jarring and required multiple steps to disable. The base engine achieved 27 mpg city, 35 highway, and 30 combined, while the turbocharged engine managed 24 city, 32 highway, and 27 combined.

The 2020 Volkswagen Passat was designed with American consumers in mind, offering a spacious interior with wide, comfortable seats and ample room for five passengers. The Passat featured plenty of storage options, including sizable cupholders and storage bins. Cloth upholstery was standard in the Passat S, while the SE and R-Line trims had V-Tex leatherette seats, and the SEL trim offered genuine leather. The trunk provided 15.9 cubic feet of space, with a flat load floor for maximum utility. The Passat’s size and utility made it a practical choice, except for those needing all-wheel drive, big-box cargo capability, or a third-row seat.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy had a solid trunk space of 15.1 cubic feet, which was better than the 2019 model but still less than what crossovers and hatchbacks offered. The Legacy’s backseat provided impressive head- and legroom, accommodating taller passengers comfortably. The backseat also featured in-door cupholders, a fold-down center armrest with additional cupholders, and rear USB ports. The front seats were supportive, with deep door pockets for storage. However, the center stack tray was small, making it difficult to plug in cables.

The 2020 Volkswagen Passat lacked Volkswagen’s latest infotainment system and Digital Cockpit instrumentation technologies. It featured a 6.3-inch touchscreen display with App Connect, including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, HD and SiriusXM satellite radio, a CD player, and Bluetooth. The SEL trim added navigation and a Fender premium sound system. The Passat’s infotainment system was simple and user-friendly, with physical buttons and knobs. The optional remote engine start system was useful for pre-conditioning the interior on hot or cold days. The SEL trim also offered a parking steering-assist system.

The 2020 Subaru Legacy featured an 11.6-inch touchscreen with the Starlink infotainment system. However, many controls were buried within the digital screen, making simple adjustments complicated. The system had large, easy-to-read icons and no lag-time, but the portrait orientation scrunched Apple CarPlay into a third of the screen. The Legacy’s infotainment system was found in all trims except the base, which had a dual-screen setup with similar issues. Test-driving the tech was recommended to see if it was as frustrating as it seemed.

The 2020 Volkswagen Passat came standard with a range of safety systems, including forward-collision warning with pedestrian detection, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot warning, and rear cross-traffic warning. An automatic post-collision braking system was also standard. The Passat SE added adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist, while the SEL trim included parking assist sensors and adaptive headlights. The Passat earned the top rating of Good in crash-test assessments by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

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 used a head-up light system for alerts and included an alert for when the car in front started moving forward. Other standard safety features included front- and side-impact airbags, traction control, a reversing camera, and a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS).