Compare the2024 Volvo XC40VS 2023 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
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 GMC Terrain 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 Terrain doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC40 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 GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the XC40 and Terrain 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 Terrain’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 XC40 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The XC40 has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Terrain doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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 Terrain 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.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The XC40 has a standard CTA Auto Brake that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Terrain doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the XC40. But it costs extra on the Terrain.

The XC40 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. A system to reveal vehicles in the Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the XC40 has standard Cross Traffic Alert and Braking Intervention automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain and the Terrain’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the XC40 and the Terrain have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rearview cameras 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 GMC Terrain:

	XC40	Terrain
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	343	376
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches

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 GMC Terrain:

	XC40	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	78	109
Chest Movement	.9 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	156 lbs.	195 lbs.
Hip Force	320 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	119	288
Spine Acceleration	48 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	237	377
Spine Acceleration	33 G’s	40 G’s
Hip Force	411 lbs.	730 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 Terrain:

	XC40	Terrain
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	129	131
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.46 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.65 in	1.69 in
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	387	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Compression	89 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.1 in	1.65 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	402 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.5 in	1.57 in
Pelvis	GOOD	GOOD
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

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 Terrain’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The XC40’s corrosion warranty is 6 years and unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (12/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC40 for 3 years and 36,000 miles. Volvo will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. GMC only pays for the first scheduled maintenance visit on the Terrain.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC40 has a standard 760-amp battery. The Terrain’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the XC40’s reliability 11 points higher than the Terrain.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Volvo 7 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The XC40’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 72 more horsepower (247 vs. 175) and 55 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
XC40
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/30 hwy
Terrain
	FWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/29 hwy
	AWD	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/28 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the XC40’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Terrain 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 Terrain. 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’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Terrain:

	XC40	Terrain
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.9 inches	11.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XC40 has larger standard tires than the Terrain (235/55R18 vs. 225/65R17). The XC40’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (245/45R20 vs. 235/50R19).

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 Terrain SLE/AT4’s standard 65 series tires. The XC40’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Terrain’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC40 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4. The XC40’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Terrain.

Suspension and Handling

The XC40 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the XC40 flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XC40 is .7 inches wider in the front and 1.5 inches wider in the rear than on the Terrain.

The XC40 B5 Plus handles at .86 G’s, while the Terrain Denali AWD pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For greater off-road capability the XC40 has a 1.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Terrain SLE (8.1 vs. 6.9 inches), allowing the XC40 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The XC40’s minimum ground clearance is .2 inch higher than on the Terrain SLT/AT4/Denali (8.1 vs. 7.9 inches).

Chassis

The XC40 is 7.5 inches shorter than the Terrain, making the XC40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The XC40 has .3 inches more front hip room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 2.8 inches more rear hip room and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Terrain.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the XC40. The Terrain doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Towing

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

Servicing Ease

The XC40 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Ergonomics

The XC40’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Terrain’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

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 Terrain can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Consumer Reports rated the XC40’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Terrain’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XC40 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Terrain 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 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the Terrain.

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. Only the Terrain Denali offers wireless charging.

Recommendations

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

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 Terrain isn’t in the top three in its category.