Our competitors here fly remarkably close together on price, despite their differing origins. On the one had we have a mid-spec Subaru XV, the 2.0i Premium, which for the 2021 facelift is also our pick of the range when it comes to price and equipment. It wears a before on-road costs price (MSRP) of $34,590.
On the other hand, we have the challenger, the Ford Puma ST-Line. It’s also the mid-spec car in the range, wearing a slightly sharper MSRP of $32,340.
However, to give the Puma the same safety kit as our XV (which we’ll look at in the safety section of this review) you’ll need to also add the 'Park Pack' bringing its before-on-roads total to $33,840. Much closer to the mark.
It’s worth also noting that the XV is all-wheel drive across the range, while the Puma is front-drive only, another value consideration. See more on this in the engine and transmission part of the review.
Outside of those factors, our cars are closely matched, see our table of equipment below for the important items:
| Subaru XV 2.0i Premium | Ford Puma ST-Line |
Price (MSRP) | $33,840 | $32,340 |
Multimedia screen size | 8.0-inch | 8.0-inch |
Digital dash | TFT only | 12.3-inch |
Headlight type | Halogen | LED |
Wheel size | 17-inch | 17-inch |
Air conditioning | Dual-zone climate control | Single-zone air conditioning |
Interior trim | Premium cloth | Sport cloth |
Seat adjust | Manual | Manual |
Sunroof | Y (standard single row) | O ($2000, panoramic) |
Built-in nav | Y | Y |
Keyless entry | Y | N |
Push-start | Y | Y |
Wireless charging | N | Y |
USB-C | N | 1x |
Paddle-shift | Y | Y |
As you can see both our cars have the lion’s share of important spec items, with the Puma adding a few more cutting-edge touches like LED headlights, a fully digital dash cluster, and a wireless phone charger. Only the Puma gets a single USB-C port, although both score bright and responsive 8.0-inch multimedia screens with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support. Annoyingly, the Puma misses out on keyless entry (whilst still having push-start ignition), and its larger panoramic sunroof is a pricey option.
Both cars also have manually adjustable premium cloth interior trim, but it’s worth noting that as with the rest of the items inside the XV, the quality and comfort of its seats seem a cut above.