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Volvo XC90 vs BMW X4

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Volvo XC90
Volvo XC90

$53,990 - $92,900

2021 price

BMW X4
BMW X4

2022 price

Summary

2021 Volvo XC90
2022 BMW X4
Safety Rating

Engine Type
S/C & T/C 4CYL, 2.0L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Premium Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
8.5L/100km (combined)

7.9L/100km (combined)
Seating
7

5
Dislikes
  • Hybrid battery could be bigger
  • Media screen is overly busy
  • Charging cable storage bag seem an afterthought

  • Cabin size
  • Restricted visibility
  • Boot design
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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2022 BMW X4 Summary

Look, personally I found it amusingly weird when German car companies started sloping the roofs on sedans and calling them “coupes”, despite the fact that they had four doors. Their ability to imagine segments, and find buyers in them, that have no reason to exist is almost something to admire.

But turning SUVs, like the already very capable X3, into coupes? Frankly, it’s like turning an ass into an elbow. Lower the roof to reduce headroom and shrink the boot? Why? Because it will look so sexy people won’t be able to resist it. That’s BMW’s approach with the X4 and, somehow, it seems to work.

And, to be fair, sporty SUVs are not a BMW thing: the Range Rover Evoque, Audi Q5 Sportback, and Mercedes-AMG’s range of GLC Coupé models have all taken off, each contributing toward an unlikely trend that doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. 

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Volvo XC90 2022 BMW X4

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