The XC90’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Highlander doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC90 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Toyota Highlander doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.
Both the XC90 and Highlander have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC90 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 Highlander’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 XC90 offers an optional built in child booster seat. It’s more crash worthy than an added child seat because of its direct attachment to the seat. Toyota doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Highlander. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC90 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC90 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC90’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Highlander’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the XC90. But it costs extra on the Highlander.
The XC90 has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. Only the Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum offers a blind spot warning system.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the XC90 has standard rear cross-path warning, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the Highlander LE/XLE/XSE/Limited/Platinum offers rear cross-path warning.
Both the XC90 and the Highlander have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front 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, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Volvo XC90 is safer than the Toyota Highlander:
|
XC90 |
Highlander |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
292 |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
38.2% |
Neck Stress |
252 lbs. |
347 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
55 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
217 |
328 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Stress |
177 lbs. |
179 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
90 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
383/334 lbs. |
545/323 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Volvo XC90 is safer than the Toyota Highlander:
|
XC90 |
Highlander |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
51 |
55 |
Hip Force |
255 lbs. |
300 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
94 |
114 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
209 |
366 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
41 G’s |
Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
664 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.