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2025 Car Mileage with the Best Gas Mileage2025 Subaru Legacy vs Toyota Camry
We look at two long-running mid-sized sedans to find out which one is the best choice for your next car. We compare engines, interior, and more.
Two Longstanding Sedans Go Head-to-Head
What would you peg as the most important rivalry in the history of Japanese automobiles? Would it be the A80 Toyota Supra vs the R34 Nissan GTR? Or maybe the Mitsubishi Evo vs. Subaru Impreza will be duking it out on rally stages? Well, at least in North America, we’d like to add the Toyota Camry vs the Subaru Legacy to that mix. Without these two, who knows if Japanese cars ever kick off stateside so intensely?
Sadly, 2025 will be the last year we can make the comparison between the Legacy and Camry while both are in production. That’s right, Subaru of North America indicates 2025 will be the swansong year for the Legacy sedan. At least, in ICE form, that is. But in celebration of competition between two automakers that ultimately made both better, let’s take one final look at the current Legacy and Camry side by side.
A Tale of Two Very Different Sedans
When you look at the 2025 Camry and 2025 Legacy in totality, you see two models in very different stages of life. For Subaru, the 2025 Legacy is the final iteration of a model that could’ve gotten a mid-cycle refresh had its maker decided not to pull the plug. As a handsome-looking, potentially semi-sporty mid-size sedan, the last Legacy is a masterclass in how to do it right. But when you look at the all-new North American-spec Camry, you get the sense the styling took a step backward, not forwards.
That quasi-duck bill front grille is about as polarizing as black licorice. Whether you like the changes is subjective, but it’s quite telling how Toyota thoroughly transformed the Camry’s styling between two generations when the one before was so beloved. But does the current Camry re-invent the wheel? Well, it doesn’t have to, but it should, in theory, hold its own against the equivalent Subaru.
Specs
The biggest differentiating factor between the 2025 Camry and Legacy by a country mile has to be the drivetrains. While the Legacy’s arguable weakest point was the stark lack of a hybrid powertrain, the 2025 Camry is only sold as a hybrid going forward. With a 2.5-liter four-cylinder ICE motor paired with an electric motor to the tune of 225 horsepower, only a CVT prevents the modern Camry from being a legitimately fun-to-drive, semi-sporty sedan.
Meanwhile, the 182-horsepower 2.5-liter boxer engine in lower-trimmed Legacy models isn’t going to impress anyone, nor will its simulated-shifting Lineartronic CVT. But to its credit, the 2.4-liter turbo boxer motor in upper trims with 260 horsepower to play with does make for a peppier experience than the equivalent Camry. As for fuel economy, 27 MPG city and 35 highway in lower-trimmed Legacys, plus 23 city, 31 highway with the turbo motor aren’t terrible for a sedan of this size.
That is until you remember the equivalent 2025 Camry with its hybrid drivetrain nets 51 combined MPGs in its front-wheel-drive configuration and 44 MPGs combined when trimmed with all-wheel-drive. From this perspective, it’s no wonder Subaru decided to throw in the towel with the ICE Legacy. In likely the most important single metric of the modern car buying experience, the Camry straight-up tombstones the Legacy. Increased sportiness on the part of the turbo Subaru be darned, people care far more about fuel economy these days. Advantage Camry on this front.
Trim Levels
As we explained in our review of the 2025 Legacy, it has a perfectly acceptable level of features across five bespoke trim packages. At $24,895 MSRP, its lower trims forgo a large center infotainment screen in favor of two smaller screens divided in the center it’s a very Subaru-esque approach to a base-model center screen. Moving up the range, all 2025 Legacys from the Premium at $27,195 and upwards use an 11.6-inch single center screen along with dual-zone climate control.
For $34,000 and change, the Legacy Limited trim nets you a 12-speaker Harmon Kardon stereo and leather seats. It’s only at the Sport trim at $34,495 that you take home the turbo 2.4-liter engine, and the range-topping $38,195 Limited adds extra flare with premium Napa leather. So then, there is plenty of variety for the equivalent Camry to contend with. With a base price of $29,495 for the entry LE model, you’re spending a full $4,600 more than the Legacy for the hybrid motor and the Toyota badge.
For your money, you get soft-touch fabrics over most of the interior of the Toyota Camry, with piano-black trim everywhere else. For infotainment, the lower LE and SE trims, starting at $29,495 and $31,795, respectively, use one eight-inch center screen with Apple and Android connectivity. Up the range, a 12.3-inch display comes standard, starting with the XLE trim at $34,495, plus heated leather seats and a heated leather steering wheel. Topping off the range at $35,695 is the XSE Trim. With all the trappings of the trims below it, plus a sportier-tuned suspension than normal, you can almost convince yourself it’s a GR if it weren’t for the noisy CVT.
Comfort and Interior
As we’ve already said, you can’t go wrong with either of these two sedans. But you can only take one home, so we’ll have to break down the particulars just a bit more to make a definitive decision. As we’ve established, the hybrid Camry wins against the Legacy in fuel economy. However, the Legacy has a full one-and-a-half-inch advantage in rear legroom, making for a slightly more comfortable experience for children in the back seat. Both sedans have exactly 15.1 cubic feet of trunk capacity, and the 2.4 turbo Legacys will absolutely smoke a Camry to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds compared to eight seconds. All while both vehicles are two of the safest sedans you can buy today.
As for the all-important warranty, the three-year, 36,000-mile basic and five-year, 60,000-mile powertrain warranty for the Camry is no better or worse than standard. But then again, it’s the same story for the Legacy with the exact same warranty terms. Will the Legacy’s complicated boxer engine remain reliable once this warranty expires? Or will it mix a “chocolate shake” of oil and coolant in your driveway? For this reason, even if Toyota decades-long reputation as the most shop-proof automobile means you’re probably safer with the Camry.
The Verdict
For this reason, plus the sizeable advantage in fuel economy, we’d have to give the advantage to the 2025 Toyota Camry, polarizing looks and all. Though no wet noodle in its own right, perhaps the Legacy platform as it exists today isn’t poised for success much past the five-year point in its production. With the way current cars and trucks are advancing, this is to be expected. We’ll say it again, either car here would be a smart buy. But it has to be said one of them is smarter than the other. We all know which one that is. Kudos to Toyota and Subaru for two awesome sedans. But one had to win.
