Compare the2024 Volvo C40 RechargeVS 2023 Nissan Ariya

The C40 Recharge’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ariya doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the C40 Recharge and Ariya have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The C40 Recharge Ultimate 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 Ariya’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 C40 Recharge 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 Ariya doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The C40 Recharge 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 Ariya 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.

Both the C40 Recharge and Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the C40 Recharge has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ariya’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the C40 Recharge and the Ariya have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, 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.

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 “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the C40 Recharge its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 131 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Ariya has not been fully tested, yet.

The C40 Recharge comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Ariya’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The C40 Recharge’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Ariya’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the C40 Recharge for 1 year and 4000 miles longer than Nissan pays for maintenance for the Ariya (4/40,000 vs. 3/36,000).

The C40 Recharge has more powerful engines than the Ariya:

As tested in Car and Driver the Volvo C40 Recharge electric motors is faster than the Ariya + electric motor:

On the EPA test cycle the C40 Recharge gets better mileage than the Ariya:

The C40 Recharge can travel longer on a full charge than the Ariya on a full charge:

The C40 Recharge Core’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ariya’s standard 55 series tires.

The C40 Recharge is 8.1 inches shorter than the Ariya, making the C40 Recharge easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The C40 Recharge has 2.1 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Ariya.

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the C40 Recharge easier. The C40 Recharge’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.2 inches, while the Ariya’s liftover is 30.6 inches.

Pulling a handle automatically lowers the C40 Recharge’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Ariya doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The C40 Recharge’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Ariya’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the C40 Recharge 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 Ariya doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The C40 Recharge uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Ariya 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.

The C40 Recharge has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Ariya doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the C40 Recharge 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 lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Ariya can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The C40 Recharge’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 Ariya’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the C40 Recharge to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Ariya doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The C40 Recharge’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Ariya’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The C40 Recharge offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Ariya doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the C40 Recharge offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Ariya doesn’t offer cornering lights. The C40 Recharge also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The C40 Recharge’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 Ariya 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 C40 Recharge has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Ariya Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ offers wireless charging.