Compare the2023 Volvo XC40VS 2023 Nissan Murano

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC40 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Nissan Murano doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The XC40’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Murano doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC40 and Murano have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC40 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 Murano’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 XC40 has standard Post-impact braking, which automatically apply the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Murano doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC40’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Murano doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the XC40 and the Murano have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, 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 XC40 is safer than the Nissan Murano:

	XC40	Murano
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	200	342
Neck Stress	209 lbs.	223 lbs.
Neck Compression	25 lbs.	34 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.7 inches
Neck Compression	66 lbs.	78 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 XC40 is safer than the Nissan Murano:

	XC40	Murano
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	78	101
Chest Movement	.9 inches	.9 inches
Hip Force	320 lbs.	392 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	119	148
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	17 inches
HIC	237	439
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	41 G’s
Hip Force	411 lbs.	591 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Volvo XC40 is safer than the Murano:

	XC40	Murano
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	129	286
Neck Tension	312 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.46 in	1.65 in
Torso Max Deflection	1.65 in	1.69 in
Torso Deflection Rate	9 MPH	9 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Neck Compression	89 lbs.	112 lbs.
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

Warranty

The XC40 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Murano’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The XC40’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Murano’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC40 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Volvo will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Nissan doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Murano.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC40 has a standard 800-amp battery. The Murano’s 550-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The XC40 B5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 18 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 240) than the Murano’s 3.5 DOHC V6.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 gets better mileage than the Murano:

			MPG
XC40
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	23 city/30 hwy
Murano
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/28 hwy
	AWD	3.5 DOHC V6	20 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the XC40’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Murano doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the XC40’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. The Murano doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The XC40 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 Murano doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the XC40 B5’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Murano:

	XC40 B4	XC40 B5	Murano
Front Rotors	12.7 inches	13.6 inches	12.6 inches
Rear Rotors	11.9 inches	13.4 inches	12.1 inches

The XC40 stops shorter than the Murano:

	XC40	Murano
70 to 0 MPH	173 feet	175 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	111 feet	115 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XC40’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Murano (245/45R20 vs. 235/65R18).

The XC40’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Murano S/SV’s standard 65 series tires. The XC40’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Murano Midnight/SL/Platinum’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The XC40 B5 Plus AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the Murano Platinum AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XC40 B5 Plus AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Murano Platinum AWD (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .64 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the XC40’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Murano’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.7 feet).

For greater off-road capability the XC40 has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Murano (8.1 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the XC40 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The XC40 is 1 foot, 6 inches shorter than the Murano, making the XC40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XC40 easier. The XC40’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.6 inches, while the Murano’s liftover is 30.7 inches.

Towing

The XC40’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Murano’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds).

Optional Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the XC40 uses the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Murano doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Servicing Ease

The XC40 has a maintenance free battery for long life without checking the battery’s water level. The Murano doesn’t have a maintenance free battery, so the water level in the battery’s cells must be checked often to prevent damage.

Ergonomics

The XC40’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Murano’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the XC40 and the Murano have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the XC40 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Murano prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The XC40’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 Murano’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

The XC40’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 Murano’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted. The Murano SV/Midnight/SL/Platinum’s intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XC40 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Murano doesn’t offer cornering lights. The XC40 also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The XC40’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Nissan only offers heated mirrors on the Murano SV/Midnight/SL/Platinum.

The XC40’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Murano offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volvo XC40 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Murano.

The XC40’s optional Park Assist Pilot can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Murano doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volvo XC40 and the Nissan Murano, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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