Compare the2024 Volvo V90 Cross CountryVS 2023 BMW X5

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo V90 Cross Country 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 BMW X5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volvo V90 Cross Country 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 BMW X5 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the V90 Cross Country and X5 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The V90 Cross Country 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 X5’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 V90 Cross Country 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. BMW doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the X5. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; V90 Cross Country owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the V90 Cross Country. But it costs extra on the X5.

Both the V90 Cross Country and X5 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the V90 Cross Country has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The X5’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the V90 Cross Country and the X5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 driver alert monitors.

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 V90 Cross Country its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 128 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X5 is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.

On the EPA test cycle the V90 Cross Country gets better mileage than the X5:

Both the V90 Cross Country and the X5 have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All V90 Cross Country’s have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. A disable switch for start/stop is only offered on the X5 M50i.

The V90 Cross Country 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 X5 doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo V90 Cross Country higher (7 out of 10) than the BMW X5 (3). This means the V90 Cross Country produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the X5 every 15,000 miles.

The V90 Cross Country Plus handles at .84 G’s, while the X5 xDrive40i pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The V90 Cross Country Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the X5 xDrive40i (26.4 seconds @ .68 average G’s vs. 27.3 seconds @ .67 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the V90 Cross Country’s turning circle is 3.2 feet tighter than the X5’s (38.1 feet vs. 41.3 feet).

The Volvo V90 Cross Country may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 1000 pounds less than the BMW X5.

The V90 Cross Country is 8.2 inches shorter in height than the X5, making the V90 Cross Country much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The design of the Volvo V90 Cross Country amounts to more than styling. The V90 Cross Country has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .35 Cd. That is lower than the X5 (.36 to .38). A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the V90 Cross Country get better fuel mileage.

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the V90 Cross Country easier. The V90 Cross Country’s trunk lift-over height is 26.8 inches, while the X5’s liftover is 30.8 inches.

The V90 Cross Country’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The X5’s tailgate’s top part raises up, but the bottom part lowers, getting in the way of loading and making an uneven surface for sliding cargo.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the V90 Cross Country uses the Electronic Stability Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The X5 doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the V90 Cross Country has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X5 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The V90 Cross Country offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X5 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The V90 Cross Country 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 costs extra on the X5.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volvo V90 Cross Country has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the X5.

The V90 Cross Country offers an optional 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 X5 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.