Subaru Impreza vs Volvo XC90

What's the difference?

VS
Subaru Impreza
Subaru Impreza

$29,490 - $39,990

2024 price

Volvo XC90
Volvo XC90

$44,999 - $79,800

2021 price

Summary

2024 Subaru Impreza
2021 Volvo XC90
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Flat 4, 2.0L

S/C & T/C 4CYL, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
7.5L/100km (combined)

8.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

7
Dislikes
  • No hybrid option
  • Engine noisy when pushed
  • Loves a drink

  • Hybrid battery could be bigger
  • Media screen is overly busy
  • Charging cable storage bag seem an afterthought
2024 Subaru Impreza Summary

For over thirty years, the Subaru Impreza has been an icon on Australian roads.

If you’re a member of the ‘PlayStation generation’ like me, there’s a very good chance you slapped P plates on one as your first car.

For Subaru the Impreza is more than that. Along with its WRX performance variant, it's the car which put Subaru on the map, raising it from a relatively unknown Japanese automaker to a global household name.

Things change, though, and despite 30-plus years of history as a beloved nameplate, the Impreza has gone from a best-seller to tumbling down the sales charts as buyers shuffle into small SUVs rather than hatchbacks or small sedans.

The question we’re looking to answer today is what this new-generation Impreza has to offer in 2024, and whether it is still worth a look.

Read on to see what we found.

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Interested in a Subaru Impreza?
2021 Volvo XC90 Summary

The last time I reviewed a plug-in hybrid Volvo I pretty much got death threats. OK, not quite, but my review and video of the XC60 R Design T8 made some readers and viewers very angry and they even called me names, all because I never charged the battery. Well, there’ll be no need for me to flee to a safe house this time, because not only did I charge the XC90 R-Design T8 Recharge I’m reviewing here, but I plugged it in nearly all the time I wasn’t driving it. Happy now?

I say nearly all the time, because during the three-week test of this plug-in hybrid XC 90 we took it away on a family holiday and didn’t have access to power and you’ll most likely face that situation too as an owner.

So how was the fuel economy of this big seven-seat SUV PHEV over hundreds of kilometres and being used as a family workhorse? The result blew me away and I can see why people were so furious with me in the first place.

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Interested in a Volvo XC90?

Deep dive comparison

2024 Subaru Impreza 2021 Volvo XC90

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