Volkswagen Golf vs Subaru Impreza

What's the difference?

Eight generations over more than half a century qualifies the Volkswagen Golf as an automotive icon, standing on the shoulders of its original beetle-shaped ancestor.

It remains one of the world’s favourite cars and this 110TSI Life version is the entry-point to the local model line-up, the latest ‘8.5’ version of which arrived here just over 12 months ago.

It sits in a hotly contested small-car category, appealing to those with a preference for a conventional hatch and pure internal-combustion power.

In an automotive world now dominated by increasingly electrified SUVs, we spent a week behind the wheel to see how it shapes up as an urban specialist with occasional open road ability.   

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.