Compare the2023 Volvo S90VS 2022 Toyota Avalon

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The S90’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Avalon doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the S90 and Avalon have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S90 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Avalon’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Volvo S90 offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. Toyota doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Avalon. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; S90 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

The S90 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Avalon doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The S90’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Avalon doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the S90 and the Avalon have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

The Volvo S90 weighs 581 to 1103 pounds more than the Toyota Avalon. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

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 vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the S90 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 95 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Avalon is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

Warranty

The S90 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Avalon’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The S90’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Avalon’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the S90 for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Avalon (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the S90 has a standard 800-amp battery. The Avalon’s 582-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The S90 B6’s standard 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid produces 43 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 267) than the Avalon’s 3.5 DOHC V6. The S90 T8’s standard 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid produces 154 more horsepower (455 vs. 301) and 256 lbs.-ft. more torque (523 vs. 267) than the Avalon’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Car and Driver the S90 B6 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder is faster than the Toyota Avalon:

	S90	Avalon
Zero to 60 MPH	5.6 sec	6.1 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	13.9 sec	15.3 sec
Quarter Mile	14.1 sec	14.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	101 MPH	98 MPH
Top Speed	133 MPH	132 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the S90 running on electricity gets better mileage than the Avalon:

			MPGe
S90
	AWD	T8 Electric Motor	66 city/67 hwy
Avalon
			MPG
	FWD	XLE 3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/32 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/31 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the S90 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the Avalon:

			MPG
S90
	AWD	2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	28 city/33 hwy
		2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl.	23 city/32 hwy
Avalon
	FWD	XLE 3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/32 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/31 hwy

The S90 T8 can travel with zero emissions for 38 miles. The Avalon can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the S90’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available T8). The Avalon doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The S90 has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Avalon XLE’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The S90 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Avalon doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the S90’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Avalon:

	S90	Avalon
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	11.7 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	11 inches

The S90’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Avalon are solid, not vented.

The S90 stops much shorter than the Avalon:

	S90	Avalon
70 to 0 MPH	161 feet	171 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	107 feet	122 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the S90 has larger tires than the Avalon (255/35R20 vs. 215/55R17). The S90’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Avalon (255/35R20 vs. 235/45R18).

The S90’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Avalon XLE’s standard 55 series tires. The S90’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Avalon Touring’s 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S90 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Avalon XLE. The S90’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Avalon Touring.

Suspension and Handling

The S90 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Avalon’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the S90’s wheelbase is 7.5 inches longer than on the Avalon (120.5 inches vs. 113 inches).

The S90 handles at .88 G’s, while the Avalon Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The S90 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Avalon Touring (26.3 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 26.8 seconds @ .65 average G’s).

Passenger Space

The S90 has .4 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, .6 inches more front hip room, .3 inches more rear headroom, .1 inches more rear legroom and .1 inches more rear hip room than the Avalon.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a button automatically lowers the S90’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Avalon doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

With its sedan body style, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the S90 offers cargo security. The Avalon’s non-lockable remote release defeats cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the S90. The Avalon doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the S90’s power trunk can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Avalon doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening trunk.

Ergonomics

The S90 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Avalon doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Avalon Limited/Touring, the S90 Ultimate has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The S90’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Avalon’s passenger power window switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The S90’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Avalon’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the S90 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Avalon doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S90 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Avalon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Avalon Limited/Touring’s cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The S90’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

A power rear sunshade and rear side window sunshades are standard in the S90 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Avalon doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

The S90 Ultimate has standard front air conditioned seats and offers them optionally in the rear. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The Avalon doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The S90 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel is only available on the Avalon Limited/Touring.

The S90 Ultimate offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Avalon.

The S90 has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Avalon doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Recommendations

The S90 was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” in 2017. The Avalon has never been an “All Star.”