Compare the2022 Audi e-tronVS 2022 Volvo XC60

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics

Safety

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The Audi e-tron has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The XC60 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

To allow off-road and deep snow capability, Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the e-tron. But it costs extra on the XC60.

An active infrared night vision system optional on the e-tron helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The XC60 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the e-tron and the XC60 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

The Audi e-tron weighs 1691 to 2170 pounds more than the Volvo XC60. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi e-tron is safer than the Volvo XC60:

	e-tron	XC60
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	44	73
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.7 inches
Abdominal Force	117 lbs.	126 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	123	185
Spine Acceleration	44 G’s	45 G’s
Hip Force	579 lbs.	906 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	8 inches	12 inches

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the e-tron, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 5.5% to 6.3% less likely to roll over than the XC60, which received a four-star rating.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the e-tron its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 116 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The XC60 is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volvo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Audi 20th in reliability. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volvo is ranked 25th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Volvo vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 4 places higher in reliability than Volvo.

Engine

The e-tron has more powerful engines than the XC60:

	Horsepower	Torque
e-tron electric motors	402 HP	490 lbs.-ft.
e-tron S electric motors	496 HP	717 lbs.-ft.
XC60 B5 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder	250 HP	258 lbs.-ft.
XC60 B6 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder	316 HP	295 lbs.-ft.
XC60 T8 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid	400 HP	472 lbs.-ft.
XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid	415 HP	494 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Audi e-tron (base engine) is faster than the Volvo XC60:

	e-tron	XC60 B5	XC60 B6
Zero to 60 MPH	5.1 sec	7.3 sec	6.6 sec
Quarter Mile	13.7 sec	15.5 sec	15 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	102.4 MPH	86.1 MPH	89.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the e-tron gets better mileage than the XC60 running on electricity:

			MPGe
e-tron
	AWD	Electric Motors	78 city/77 hwy
		S Electric Motors	72 city/75 hwy
		Black Optic Electric Motors	62 city/64 hwy
XC60
	AWD	T8 Electric Motor	59 city/55 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the e-tron gets better mileage than the XC60 running its gasoline engine:

			MPGe
e-tron
	AWD	Electric Motors	78 city/77 hwy
		S Electric Motors	72 city/75 hwy
		Black Optic Electric Motors	62 city/64 hwy
XC60
			MPG
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy
		T8 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/27 hwy

The e-tron’s maximum EPA estimated driving range is 181 to 222 miles on a full charge. The XC60 T8 can only travel about 19 miles before it has to start its internal combustion engine.

Regardless of its engine, regenerative brakes improve the e-tron’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. Volvo only offers a regenerative brake system on the XC60 T8.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi e-tron higher (10 out of 10) than the Volvo XC60 (5 to 7). This means the e-tron produces up to 19.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the XC60 every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

The e-tron’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The XC60 doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the e-tron’s brake rotors are larger than those on the XC60:

	e-tron	XC60
Front Rotors	15.7 inches	12.7 inches
Rear Rotors	13.8 inches	11.9 inches

The e-tron stops shorter than the XC60:

	e-tron	XC60
60 to 0 MPH	128 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the e-tron has larger standard tires than the XC60 (255/50R20 vs. 235/60R18).

The e-tron’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the XC60’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the e-tron has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the XC60.

Suspension and Handling

The front and rear suspension of the e-tron uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the XC60, which uses coil springs in front and transverse leafs springs in the rear. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the e-tron’s wheelbase is 2.3 inches longer than on the XC60 (115.1 inches vs. 112.8 inches).

The e-tron Chronos Edition executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the XC60 B5 AWD Momentum (26.6 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 27.3 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

Chassis

The design of the Audi e-tron amounts to more than styling. The e-tron has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .3 Cd. That is lower than the XC60 (.32) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the e-tron get better fuel mileage.

The front grille of the e-tron uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The XC60 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The e-tron has .4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear legroom and 1 inch more rear shoulder room than the XC60.

Cargo Capacity

The e-tron has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the XC60 with its rear seat up (28.5 vs. 21.6 cubic feet). The e-tron has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the XC60 with its rear seat folded (56.4 vs. 49.8 cubic feet).

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the e-tron’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The XC60 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The e-tron’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the XC60’s (4000 vs. 3500 pounds).

Ergonomics

The e-tron’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The XC60 doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The e-tron’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The XC60’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The e-tron’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the XC60’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the e-tron has standard extendable sun visors. The XC60 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the e-tron to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The XC60 doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The e-tron has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the XC60.