Compare the2023 Volvo XC40VS 2023 Jeep Cherokee

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Model Availability
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 Jeep Cherokee 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 Cherokee doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC40 and Cherokee 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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee 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.

The XC40 offers an optional 360-Degree Surround View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Cherokee only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

The XC40’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 Cherokee doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the XC40 and the Cherokee have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 and rear cross-path warning.

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 Jeep Cherokee:

	XC40	Cherokee
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	200	204
Neck Injury Risk	30%	38.2%
Neck Stress	209 lbs.	408 lbs.
Neck Compression	25 lbs.	41 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	361/380 lbs.	368/516 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.5 inches
Neck Injury Risk	31%	37%
Neck Stress	156 lbs.	218 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 Jeep Cherokee:

	XC40	Cherokee
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	320 lbs.	363 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	119	264
Spine Acceleration	48 G’s	53 G’s
Hip Force	755 lbs.	938 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	43 G’s
Hip Force	411 lbs.	490 lbs.

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 XC40 is 1.4% to 1.9% less likely to roll over than the Cherokee.

For its top level performance in all IIHS frontal, side, rear impact and roof-crush tests, and its standard front crash prevention system, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XC40 the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2017, a rating granted to only 235 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Cherokee has not been tested, yet.

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 Cherokee’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 Cherokee’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC40 has a standard 800-amp battery. The Cherokee’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The XC40 B4’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 14 more horsepower (194 vs. 180) and 50 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 171) than the Cherokee’s standard 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
XC40
	FWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	23 city/30 hwy
Cherokee
	AWD	2.4 DOHC 4-cyl.	21 city/29 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	20 city/26 hwy

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

The XC40 has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Cherokee. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	XC40 B5	Cherokee
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13 inches
Rear Rotors	13.4 inches	10.95 inches
Opt Rear Rotors		12.6 inches

The XC40 stops much shorter than the Cherokee:

	XC40	Cherokee
60 to 0 MPH	111 feet	131 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	153 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XC40 has larger standard tires than the Cherokee (235/55R18 vs. 225/60R18).

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 Cherokee Trailhawk 4x4’s standard 65 series tires. The XC40’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Cherokee Altitude LUX’s optional 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC40 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Cherokee Trailhawk 4x4. The XC40’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 18-inch wheels optional on the Cherokee Altitude LUX.

Suspension and Handling

The XC40 B5 Plus AWD handles at .86 G’s, while the Cherokee pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The XC40 B5 Plus AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Cherokee (27.4 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the XC40’s turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the Cherokee’s (37.4 feet vs. 37.7 feet). The XC40’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Cherokee Trailhawk’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the XC40 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Cherokee (8.1 vs. 7.9 inches), allowing the XC40 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

Chassis

The XC40 is 8.1 inches shorter than the Cherokee, making the XC40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The XC40 has .9 inches more front hip room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 4.7 inches more rear hip room and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Cherokee.

Cargo Capacity

The XC40 has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cherokee with its rear seat folded (57.5 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

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 Cherokee’s liftover is 30.9 inches.

The XC40’s cargo area is larger than the Cherokee’s in almost every dimension:

	XC40	Cherokee
Length to seat (2nd/1st)	34.9”/65.7”	33.9”/67.6”
Max Width	41.7”	49.2”
Min Width	39.5”	39.4”
Height	29.4”	28.8”

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the XC40’s optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Cherokee doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Towing

The XC40’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Cherokee’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

Ergonomics

If the windows are left open on the XC40 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Cherokee can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Consumer Reports rated the XC40’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Cherokee’s headlights, which were rated “Fair” to “Good” (depending on model and options).

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XC40 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Cherokee 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 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 Cherokee has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the XC40 and the Cherokee have standard heated front seats. The XC40 also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Cherokee.

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. The Cherokee doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Model Availability

The XC40 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Cherokee doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Volvo XC40, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Jeep Cherokee isn't recommended.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2019 issue and they ranked the Volvo XC40 B5 Plus AWD higher than the Jeep Cherokee.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the XC40 second among small premium suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Cherokee isn’t in the top three in its category.

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