Subaru Legacy vs Nissan Juke: which is more reliable?
The Nissan Juke is clearly ahead of the Subaru Legacy on the federal record: 88/100 against 73/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Subaru Legacy
- 13 model years scored
- 999 owner complaints on record
- about 10 complaints per year on the road
- 49 recall campaigns, 31 safety-critical
- best year 2023 (90/100) · worst 2020 (45/100)
Nissan Juke
- 4 model years scored
- 313 owner complaints on record
- about 3 complaints per year on the road
- 10 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (93/100) · worst 2011 (62/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Legacy against Juke
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Subaru Legacy
- Visibility/Wiper — 243 complaints
- Electrical System — 238 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 200 complaints
Nissan Juke
- Engine — 118 complaints
- Fuel/Propulsion System — 54 complaints
- Electrical System — 48 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Legacy's complaints concentrate in Visibility/Wiper, the Juke's in Engine. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Subaru Legacy — avoid: 2020.
Nissan Juke: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2014, 2017.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Subaru Legacy prices at about $30,400 and a Nissan Juke at about $13,900 — the Nissan Juke is roughly $16,500 less, and they return 30.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Subaru Legacy or the Nissan Juke more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Nissan Juke scores 88/100 against the Subaru Legacy's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Nissan Juke carries about 3 complaints per year on the road against 10 for the Subaru Legacy.
Which Subaru Legacy and Nissan Juke years should I avoid?
Subaru Legacy: 2020. Nissan Juke: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Subaru Legacy and the Nissan Juke?
The largest complaint group on the Subaru Legacy is Visibility/Wiper (243 complaints); on the Nissan Juke it is Engine (118).
Is the Subaru Legacy or the Nissan Juke cheaper to own?
A recent used Subaru Legacy prices at about $30,400 and a Nissan Juke at about $13,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.