Volvo XC90 vs Honda CR-V

What's the difference?

It’s a credit to Volvo that the XC90 feels like a new car, even with its older underpinnings. This latest update has successfully addressed areas that needed the most attention, namely the multimedia system, interior and exterior design. The electric driving range now feels somewhat old school compared to the numbers some manufacturers can achieve these days. A lot of PHEVs now exceed 100km EV range and buyers are starting to expect that. And setting up the third row takes way too much effort to want to do it regularly. The new Volvo XC90 is a comfortable, engaging and properly premium family SUV and the updates have only improved what was already a solid offering.

What a joy it is to drive such a complete, solid, refined car. Close to three years into its life, the sixth-gen Honda CR-V remains one of, if not the best mid-size mainstream SUV in Australia. I say ‘one of’ as I am yet to drive the new-gen Toyota RAV4 so I’ll wait to test that before giving a final judgement.

The new entry-grade VTi X e:HEV is a winner and you likely won’t need much more kit than what it offers. But you wouldn't regret paying a bit more for the extra spec in higher grades.

Aside from the lack of a space-saver spare wheel in hybrid grades, most of the other negatives are forgivable.

If you are looking for a mid-size family friendly SUV, please go and test drive the CR-V. Very few brands are doing things as well as Honda right now.

Back in early 2015, I attended the international launch of the second-generation Volvo XC90. At the time I thought it was a handsome SUV, with Volvo successfully interpreting what is essentially a big people-hauling box on wheels with typical Scandinavian flair.

There’s been a facelift since then, but this latest refresh brings the XC90 bang up to date.

New elements include a modern take on the 'Thor's Hammer' LED headlights, and a new bonnet and grille with an updated diagonal logo spread across the car's face. At the rear the only change is slightly darker tail-lights.

The new grille in particular looks great, and with all of the blacked-out elements of the T8 - grille, lower air intakes, parts of the apron, mirror caps, roof rails and window surrounds - it looks quite cool, especially contrasted with the test car's 'Crystal White' paint. It has elevated the overall look.

Inside, Volvo has made big changes, mostly with the dash and console. It retains the familiarity of other Volvos, but is much more in keeping with its new all-electric EX90 sibling.

It still has a horizontal theme, but with cool new vertical air vents. The new multimedia screen fits well into the dash layout, and isn’t over sized. It’s the ideal size at 11.2 inches. There are a few buttons underneath but not many.

The mix of materials used at the front of the cabin includes ‘Grey Ash’ wood, piano black, chrome, metal-look speakers, grey fabric and soft touch as well as hard plastics. It sounds like it would be too much but it works well.

Volvo has always been a leader when it comes to car seats and the new XC90 is no exception. The beautifully designed ventilated charcoal Nappa leather seats look and feel stunning. The tiny Swedish flag is a nice touch, too.

The engine start/stop button and the crystal selector add a touch of glamour to the cabin. Overall, the XC90 feels properly premium inside, still with a Scandinavian bent. Just lovely.

If you’re familiar with the sixth-generation CR-V that launched in late 2023 then you’re familiar with the 2026 version. No visual changes have been made, although the flagship RS now has gloss black mirror caps and door handles.

It is a handsome design for sure, but it doesn’t elevate the medium SUV segment, nor does it do anything different or interesting.

I remember thinking it already looked a bit old when it launched, specifically the entry-grade versions, and given there’s a lot more competition in the segment now, a nip and tuck would've helped.

Nothing has changed design-wise inside. It has an appealing but somewhat conservative design with cool elements like the honeycomb mesh horizontal panel housing the air vents, and the classy chrome dials.

Any dedicated seven-seat family SUV needs to nail practicality and when it comes to the Volvo XC90, there are clear pros and some surprising cons.

One of the many pros is the seats. As mentioned, they look schmick, but are also supremely comfortable and offer the perfect level of bolstering and support. The T8 has a seat adjustment memory function that can be programmed into the driver profiles that also tailors other functions to suit different drivers.

The quality of the materials and build quality of the cabin is largely impressive. Even the damping of the indicator stalk has a feeling of high-end quality.

Volvo’s digital instrument cluster is clear and easy to navigate, once you work out what the buttons on the steering wheel do. They don’t have words on them so it takes a while. The driver’s manual comes in handy for this.

The big story in the cabin is the new 11.2-inch multimedia display. Volvo uses a Google platform and the car comes with Google Services which includes Google Assistant voice control, Maps and Play.

I’m a fan of Apple CarPlay and once I have assessed a car’s in-house multimedia system I often defer to CarPlay. It’s simple and familiar. But aside from using CarPlay to connect once, I used Volvo’s system for the vast majority of my time with this car.

Logging into your Google account means your favourites come up on the map and there is no downside to functionality. If I had the car for longer I would've added Spotify to the system and logged into that, too, but I was happy listening to digital radio on the phenomenal 19-speaker Bowers & Wilkins sound system.

The screen takes some familiarisation, but once you understand the home keys and how to switch between apps, it’s a pleasure to use. It has a clear layout, nice graphics and is responsive. Yes, the air con controls are mostly housed in the screen, but if you tap the lower part of the screen the entire climate menu appears. It is light years ahead of Volvo’s previous screen set-up.

Most functions are housed in the screen, although there are buttons just under the screen for volume and audio on/off, front and rear demisters, hazard lights and a button to open the glove box.

Storage up front is just okay. The console houses shallow cupholders and a handy upright phone holder, as well as the device charging pad. It’s a shame there’s no under console storage, but the transmission tunnel might be too chunky for that.

The shallow central bin houses two USB-C ports and a 12-volt outlet. Bottle storage is decent in the front door cards.

The panoramic sunroof only has a sheer blind (it’s powered) which is less than ideal in a country like Australia. It’s been fine in winter but I’m curious to know what it’s like in the height of summer.

The second row features manual window blinds to keep your little ones cool.

There’s some back support for the second-row seats but the base is flat. Some of the seat fabric in that row looks like it doesn’t quite fit, but I think that’s the nature of the leather with the intricate designs.

In terms of space, there’s ample leg, toe and headroom, and the rear backrests recline for extra comfort on long trips. The bases roll forward and back and the seats are split 40/20/40.

Kids will likely fight over who has to sit in the middle seat because the combination of an intrusive transmission tunnel and the rear of the front centre console protruding into the space means it is not a great seat.

Occupants have access to chest and knee-level air vents, heated seat and digital climate controls, map pockets, two USB-C ports and a central fold-down armrest with a fiddly cupholder mechanism. The rear doors will only house small, narrow bottles.

Accessing the third row of the Volvo is challenging. For starters, to move the second row seats forward you need to use the lever at the top of the seat and the roller under the base to move them. And they are heavy seats. That leaves just enough of an aperture to get into the third row.

But first you have to raise the third row. Sadly there’s no lever in the boot area to quickly raise or lower the third-row seats. You have to either climb into the boot and reach for the lever at the top of the seats, or reach through the back door and try and raise them that way. And again, they are heavy.

It is a deeply unintuitive system and leaves you exhausted and frustrated. Especially when you consider other seven seaters have a much more functional and lightweight third-row arrangement.

Once in the third row, it’s clear it is for humans with tiny legs only. It is not a space appropriate for six-foot tall men like me, even for short distances. You do get ample headroom, air vents, cupholders and storage boxes on either side that open up to show a kid-friendly spider web design with a friendly looking spider. Cute!

The seats fold flat into the boot floor and the loading lip is level with the floor so loading heavy or long items should be a breeze. You can adjust the air suspension from the boot to lower the height further which is always a handy feature.

It comes with a solid cargo blind but you need to remove it if you want to raise the third row. When putting it back in, it catches on the third-row seat belts, so it’s not the best design.

In terms of boot features, the Volvo comes with a household charging cable that is housed neatly under the boot floor in a stylish bag. Many PHEVs and EVs still don’t have a dedicated spot to house a cable so you have to take up boot space with a chunky cable bag. Good job, Volvo.

It has a powered tailgate, a few nooks and a pair of 5.0kg hooks. However, it doesn’t have a spare wheel of any description. Just a tyre repair kit. This is due to packaging restrictions, but it’s never an ideal solution.

In terms of space, the Volvo can swallow 640 litres of cargo with the second row up and 301L with all three rows in place. That latter figure isn’t bad compared to some seven-seaters.

The CR-V is a medium-size family SUV with a long history of practicality at its core, so it has to get the fundamentals right. And, largely, it does.

Up front the CR-V is a spacious car with ample head room and decent space across. The seats are well-bolstered and comfortable across the model grades. The seats in the RS are almost sports seats with ample side bolsters and black leather-appointed trim with red stitching, but I prefer the cloth trim of the VTi X.

Storage is handled by sizeable door bottle holders, a pair of cupholders up front and a big central bin, with a few other nooks for phones and the like.

Connectivity-wise there’s a pair of USB-C ports and a wireless charging pad on all grades. The multimedia screen is small by today’s standards, but it’s hard to fault its functionality. Large menu tiles are easy to identify and swipe through, and thankfully there is a separate space on the stack for air-con with actual buttons and dials. And the dials look great! Virtually every Chinese brand (and Tesla), please take note.

Google Built-in is a solid system as it allows you to log into your own Google account and access your saved places on Maps. I used this when I reviewed the Accord and barely needed to use Apple CarPlay. On the launch we mostly used CarPlay because of time limitations, and unlike when I attended the original sixth-gen CR-V launch, the Apple connection worked without fault.

Rear-seat space is ample, especially when it comes to leg, knee and toe room, but headroom is impacted in the RS by the panoramic sunroof. There’s scalloping in the roof to help with this, but my head (I’m 6ft tall) almost scrapes the roofliner.

Sadly the CR-V doesn’t have the ‘magic’ seats of other Honda models. That system allows you to fold the base upright on all three rear seats, or even remove the seat entirely, to allow for extra cargo space in the second row. The CR-V just has standard 60-40 split-fold seats.

You also get map pockets on the rear of both front seats, two more USB-C ports, fold-down armrest with cupholders, knee-level air vents and enough space for a small bottle in the doors.

The boot measures a healthy 589 litres for the five-seat petrol, as well as VTi X and L hybrid grades. That drops ever so slightly to 581L for the VTi LX and RS hybrids. And it’s just 150L for the seven-seater with the rear rows in place. The boot in the five-seat versions has a flat floor for easier loading of heavy items, as well as a 12V outlet, hooks, nooks and lights. It’s a decent, practical space.

Only the five-seat petrol grade has a full-size spare wheel. The seven-seat petrol has a space saver spare, while the hybrid has none at all - just a dismal tyre repair kit. That’s not good enough, Honda. Many of your hybrid rivals have at least a space-saver these days.

There are now six CR-V grades following this model-year update. The two petrol grades are the VTi X and VTi L7. The latter is now the only seven-seat offering after one of the grades was dropped due to low take-up.

Pricing for the petrol versions is actually up a little, with the VTi X kicking off the range at $44,900, a $3000 increase over the former base grade. The VTi L7 is up by $2600 to $54,900. By the way, all Honda pricing is inclusive of on-road costs.

But the hybrids are the big news. The only hybrid used to be the e:HEV RS at $59,900 d/a, but it now starts at $49,900 for the e:HEV X. From there you move up to the e:HEV L at $53,900, then the e:HEV LX at $58,900.

The e:HEV RS is still the flagship and gains some more features as part of the update, but its price has also increased to $64,400.

While Honda should be commended for lowering the price of entry for a hybrid CR-V, the pricing is still a fair bit higher than newer plugless hybrid rivals from China like the MG HS (from $42,990) or GWM Haval H6 (from $40,990 d/a).

Looking at more traditional rivals, the new-gen Toyota RAV4 hybrid starts at $45,990, the Kia Sportage from $44,450, Nissan X-Trail e-Power from $48,915 and Subaru Forester hybrid from $46,490. But remember, these prices are all before on-road costs, whereas Honda’s pricing is inclusive of on-road costs, which can add anywhere from $3000 to $5000. That makes the CR-V more competitive than you might initially think.

For your money the CR-V comes standard with LED headlights and daytime running lights, dusk-sensing headlights, a 7.0-inch digital driver instrument display, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, two-tone black fabric seat trim and a retractable cargo cover (not offered on the seven-seat grade).

All grades now get the latest version of Honda Connect which is an app-based system that allows you to remotely lock and unlock the car, as well as remotely controlling climate, lights, the horn and the power tailgate, while also offering car diagnostics, location services and more.

As part of the multimedia setup all CR-Vs now get Google Built-in, which comes with integrated Google Maps, Assistant and Google Play. It also has wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and four USB-C ports.

VTi L grades add black leather-appointed seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, privacy glass, a ‘Smart’ key card, heated front seats, a 360-degree camera and a 10.2-inch digital driver display which is new to this grade.

The VTi LX adds extra trim flourishes, ambient lighting, DAB+ digital radio, a 12-speaker Bose audio system, auto retractable mirrors (new) and two-tone gloss black 19-inch wheels.

Finally the RS gets unique RS exterior styling, a panoramic sunroof, LED active cornering lights, an extra drive mode, red stitching on the leather-appointed seats and alloy pedals. New to the RS for 2026 is ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel and a head-up display.

It’s disappointing to see digital radio only offered in the top two grades when it’s available in $22,000 hatchbacks. And only offering the head-up display in the RS feels cheap, too.

Two powertrains are available in the new XC90, both with all-wheel drive.

The B5 Bright comes with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance offering 183kW of power and 350Nm of torque. It can dash from zero to 100km/h in 7.7 seconds.

The version I’m testing has a 233kW, 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a plug-in hybrid system that uses a 107kW electric motor and an 18.8kWh, 400-volt battery.

The total system output for the T8 PHEV is 340kW and a meaty 709Nm. It uses an eight-speed automatic transmission. It can complete the 0-100km/h sprint in a brisk 5.3 seconds.

Pure petrol powered CR-Vs use Honda’s 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine that’s also found in the HR-V and ZR-V SUVs. In the CR-V, it pumps out 140kW of power and 240Nm of torque.

It is paired with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) driving the front wheels only.

The hybrid uses a 2.0-litre petrol engine combined with a hybrid setup and a shift-by-wire E-CVT. The total system output for the hybrid is 135kW and 335Nm. There’s a choice of two front- and two all-wheel-drive hybrid grades.

The CR-V’s power output is less than the RAV4 (143kW) and Forester (145kW), but it offers more torque than the latter (212Nm).

The mild-hybrid XC90 B5 Bright has an official fuel use figure of 8.1 litres per 100 kilometres, which is on the thirsty side, although it is a 2.5-tonne SUV.

Officially, the XC90 T8 Plug In Hybrid sips just 1.8L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, but as with any PHEVs, unless you charge your car religiously and never drive far enough to deplete the battery, that figure is extremely hard to achieve.

I charged the car regularly using my home wall charger (two to three hours for a full charge) and the fuel gauge barely moved.

After a week of mixed driving my final fuel economy figure was 3.4 litres per 100km, which isn’t too bad.

The XC90 T8 has a 3.6kW onboard charger and a Type 2 plug so it’s only capable of AC charging. It is not compatible with a DC source so no fast charging on the go.

The official electric driving range according to Volvo is 77km, which feels a little old school compared to the many PHEVs landing on the market now that have an EV driving range in excess of 100km.

The offical figure also seems somewhat optimistic because the most I got on a full charge was 60km. Anecdotally, I have heard it can get up to 70km after a charge, it just didn't get there in my time with the XC90.

Fuel consumption for the petrol grades is 7.1 litres per 100 kilometres for the five seat VTi X, while the VTi L7 is a tad thirstier at 7.3L. CO2 emissions for the petrol SUV is 162-167g/km.

Front-wheel-drive hybrids sip 5.5L and all-wheel-drive versions consume 5.7L. CO2 emissions for the hybrids range from 125-131g/km.

Hybrid versions of the Kia Sportage drink between 4.9-5.3 litres, while the new-gen RAV4 sips just 4.5-4.6L. The CR-V is not the most efficient hybrid in the medium SUV segment, but it’s more frugal than most petrol engines.

The theoretical driving range of the CR-V hybrid is close to 1040km, while the petrol CR-V is 804km.

Both powertrains are rated for Euro 6b and they can both drink 91 RON fuel.

For a tall, large and heavy SUV, the XC90 has an excellent driving position. You feel hunkered down in the driver’s seat; it’s almost sporty!

Those healthy power and torque figures translate well on the road. It is properly quick off the mark and picks up pace rapidly when already at speed. You do need to work out the trigger point for the accelerator because if you give it too much it feels a little like a slingshot.

The transition between the electric motor and the petrol engine is noticeable, but it’s still smooth. It’s not harsh or clunky like some hybrids and PHEVs. Similarly, the eight-speed transmission is so smooth it rarely makes its presence felt. It's a lovely match for this powertrain.

On that, the cabin is incredibly well insulated. It’s a hushed ride at any speed. Again, you’ll hear the engine kick in but it has a nice note so that noise is welcome.

The powertrain has several driving modes including 'Pure' (EV only), 'Power' (for added performance) and 'Hybrid'. Hybrid is the go-to and 'Auto' allows the system to determine when the petrol engine kicks in. This is the best everyday mode.

Volvo understands the XC90 is more than just family transport and has engineered it in such a way that it offers a surprising level of dynamism.

It’s flatter in corners and bends than you expect of a car of this size and weight. It has a balanced chassis, likely helped by the air suspension, with minimal body roll and little lateral movement inside. Impressive.

It has enough grip on looser surfaces, aided by the all-wheel drive set-up.

The ride quality is more composed and refined at higher speeds, regardless of the road conditions, managing potholes and the like quite well. Volvo has tweaked the suspension tune as part of the update for this very reason.

At lower urban speeds, it’s not quite as calm. You’ll feel speed bumps and potholes and it's a little jiggly on rough surfaces. The low profile (275/35 R22) tyres are partly to blame here.

With that said, it’s not enough to dampen the overall XC90 drive experience. It is a lovely car to drive, whether cruising on freeways, country road blasts or city commuting.

Its underpinnings might be 10 years old, but the XC90 feels as fresh to drive as many of its rivals.

It’s been about two-and-a-half years since I attended the CR-V launch and it’s always good to reacquaint yourself with a car, particularly one I was so impressed with.

The CR-V has a few more rivals than when it first went on sale. A lot of them are from Chinese brands. But even with the fierce competition in the segment, the CR-V remains an absolute standout.

Honda didn’t have any petrol grades at the launch, which isn’t surprising given the Japanese carmaker expects hybrids will make up a whopping 85 per cent of CR-V sales by the end of this year.

The two-wheel-drive VTi X e:HEV is the most affordable hybrid grade and it should appeal to a lot of potential buyers. This does not feel like a base grade car in terms of the cabin or how it drives. The cloth seats are the only giveaway that it’s not a higher grade.

Honda engineers have managed to produce something rare - a silky-smooth hybrid system. The company is using the word ‘smooth’ in its TV ads for this car, but for once the ad execs got it right.

The powertrain operates on electric power until highway speeds but the transition to the petrol engine is seamless. If you floor the throttle you’ll hear the engine, but it’s a pleasant note. Certainly more appealing than the sound of Toyota’s petrol-electric hybrid on the go.

Acceleration is brisk enough for a car like this. Not overly quick, but it’s linear and the build up to higher speeds feels natural yet still urgent when required.

There is no whine from the electric CVT, in fact it is virtually unclockable. I don’t love the shift-by-wire transmission buttons. I’m fine with buttons rather than a traditional shifter generally, but it’s the layout of the Honda buttons that’s unnecessarily confusing.

When it comes to ride and handling, the CR-V excels.

The launch drive from Melbourne up through the Yarra Valley to Marysville features some of the best driving roads within an hour or so of the city. A carmaker would only include these roads in a test loop if it was confident of the vehicle’s dynamic ability.

In both two- and all-wheel drive guise, the CR-V hybrid exhibits excellent body control, thanks to a well-balanced chassis. It carves through tight, twisty sections like a car half its size and never feels like it will lose control.

The ride quality is hard to fault. Those roads are littered with shockingly large potholes, the sort that could damage a lesser car. The CR-V eats them up with barely a hint of disruption in the cabin. Given the rough ride of some newer rivals it’s a pleasure to drive a car with such a well-sorted suspension setup.

The cabin is well-insulated from external noise, but that engine note will be evident if you switch to Sport mode and give it a bootful.

There’s an overall feeling of quality behind the wheel of the CR-V. This company has been building cars for 60 years and it shows. I would happily live with a CR-V as my daily drive.

Aside from the addition of a head-up display and 360-degree camera on some variants, post-collision braking is now standard across the range. Not much else has changed on the safety front for the 2026 CR-V.

It does come standard with the main active safety gear such as auto emergency braking, forward collision warning, lane-keep assist, traffic jam assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise, traffic-sign recognition, rear cross-traffic alert, driver attention monitor, tyre pressure monitor and a road departure mitigation system.

There’s even an acoustic vehicle alert system for the near-silent hybrids.

It has eight airbags, including a front-centre airbag that helps mitigate against injury between driver and front passenger in the event of a side crash. The curtain airbags reach to the third row in seven-seat versions.

It’s great that Honda now offers a surround-view camera but why not just offer it across the entire model range?

The CR-V still has a four-star ANCAP rating from testing in 2024. Honda has no plans to have the car re-tested.

On the road, Honda’s ADAS calibration works as these systems should. It intervenes only when necessary. You will feel a tug of the wheel if crossing a road marking, but it’s unobtrusive and just works away in the background.

Given how over-the-top systems from rivals like Kia, Hyundai, MG, Chery and Geely are, it’s refreshing.

The XC90 is covered by Volvo’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, and the servicing schedule is every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. These are similar terms to other premium brands in Australia.

Buyers can opt for one of two capped-price servicing packs, costing $2380 for three years and $3870 for five years.

This pricing is a little more than the BMW X5 but quite a bit more affordable than the Mercedes-Benz GLE.

The Swedish brand used to have a reputation for over-priced servicing but it’s sharpened up its offer considerably in recent years.

Volvo has around 40 dealerships located across Australia and conducts its servicing in-house at the dealer.

Honda’s ownership proposition is solid, thanks to renowned reliability and an extensive dealer network across the country (more than 80).

The CR-V is covered by a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Yes, that term length looks a bit average by today’s standards when so many have seven and 10-year terms. However, Honda offers an additional three years - bringing it to eight - if you service with Honda dealers.

Nissan and Mitsubishi advertise a 10-year warranty, but it’s conditional, as long as you service with their dealer network. The difference is Honda promotes it as an add-on, whereas Nissan and Mitsubishi splash the 10-year figure first and foremost, with caveats. Honda’s marketing of its warranty just feels a bit more authentic. 

Hybrids come with an eight-year battery warranty, too.

The service schedule is every 12 months or 10,000km. That would be more competitive if it was 15,000km.

But the rest of the aftersales offer is excellent. It includes five years of roadside assistance and services are capped at just $199 per visit for the first five years.