Compare the2024 Chrysler PacificaVS 2024 Volvo XC90

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Pacifica are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The XC90 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Chrysler Pacifica has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The XC90 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The Pacifica offers optional Emergency Vehicle Alert System, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The XC90 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from other vehicles.

Both the Pacifica and the XC90 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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, available all wheel drive and 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 Chrysler Pacifica is safer than the Volvo XC90:

	Pacifica	XC90
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Stress	230 lbs.	252 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	75/194 lbs.	567/631 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	196	217
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.4 inches
Neck Injury Risk	25%	31%
Neck Stress	117 lbs.	177 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	440/251 lbs.	383/334 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, results indicate that the Chrysler Pacifica is safer than the Volvo XC90:

	Pacifica	XC90
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	149 lbs.	153 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	66	94

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 Pacifica is 4.3% to 8.2% less likely to roll over than the XC90.

Warranty

Chrysler’s powertrain warranty covers the Pacifica 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volvo covers the XC90. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the XC90 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 9 times as many Chrysler dealers as there are Volvo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Pacifica’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Chrysler vehicles are more reliable than Volvo With 16 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Chrysler higher than Volvo.

Engine

As tested in Motor Trend the Chrysler Pacifica V6 is faster than the XC90 B6 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid:

	Pacifica	XC90
Zero to 60 MPH	6.7 sec	6.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.1 sec	15.2 sec

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Pacifica Hybrid running on electricity gets better mileage than the XC90 T8 Extended Range running on electricity (87 city/77 hwy vs. 59 city/57 hwy MPGe).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Chrysler Pacifica uses regular unleaded gasoline. The XC90 requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Chrysler Pacifica higher (7 out of 10) than the Volvo XC90 (5 to 7). This means the Pacifica produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the XC90 every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Chrysler Pacifica, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the XC90.

The Pacifica Hybrid has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The XC90 doesn’t offer a CVT.

Brakes and Stopping

The Pacifica stops much shorter than the XC90:

	Pacifica	XC90
70 to 0 MPH	164 feet	184 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	122 feet	123 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires available on the Pacifica can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The XC90 doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Pacifica has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The XC90 Ultimate suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

The front and rear suspension of the Pacifica uses coil springs for better ride, handling and control than the XC90, which uses transverse leafs springs in the rear. Coil springs compress more progressively and offer more suspension travel for a smoother ride with less bottoming out.

The Pacifica’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The XC90 doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Pacifica’s wheelbase is 4.1 inches longer than on the XC90 (121.6 inches vs. 117.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Pacifica is 2.7 inches wider in the front and 2.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the XC90.

Chassis

The front grille of the Pacifica uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The XC90 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Pacifica uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The XC90 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Passenger Space

The Pacifica offers optional seating for 8 passengers; the XC90 can only carry 7.

The Pacifica has 61.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the XC90 (165.1 vs. 103.8).

The Pacifica has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front legroom, 3 inches more front hip room, 6.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 2 inches more rear legroom, 8.3 inches more rear hip room, 6.4 inches more rear shoulder room, 2.4 inches more third row headroom, 4.6 inches more third row legroom, 4.6 inches more third row hip room and 14.3 inches more third row shoulder room than the XC90.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Pacifica’s middle and third row seats recline. The XC90’s third row seats don’t recline.

Cargo Capacity

The Pacifica’s cargo area provides more volume than the XC90.

	Pacifica	XC90
Behind Third Seat	32.3 cubic feet	12.6 cubic feet
Third Seat Folded	87.5 cubic feet	35.6 cubic feet
Second Seat Folded	140.5 cubic feet	85.7 cubic feet

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Pacifica easier. The Pacifica’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 24.3 inches, while the XC90’s liftover is 30.8 inches.

The Pacifica’s cargo area is larger than the XC90’s in almost every dimension:

	Pacifica	XC90
Length to seat (3rd/2nd/1st)	23.2”/57.5”/92.5”	21.8”/49.6”/80.3”
Max Width	49.3”	54.7”
Min Width	48.8”	44.5”
Height	47.6”	35”

The Pacifica has standard Stow ’n Go second and third row seats (except Hybrid for the second row), which fold flat into the floor. This completely clears a very large cargo area quickly. The XC90 only has a third row seat which folds into the floor. The XC90’s second row seat doesn’t fold into the floor and eats up cargo room.

Ergonomics

The Pacifica’s instruments include an oil pressure gauge and a temperature gauge - which could save your engine! Often ‘idiot lights’ don’t warn you until damage has been done. The XC90 has neither an oil pressure gauge nor a temperature gauge.

The Pacifica Limited/Pinnacle’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 XC90’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Pacifica has standard extendable sun visors. The XC90 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The Pacifica has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the XC90.

The Pacifica (except Touring)’s optional ParkSense Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The XC90 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Model Availability

The Pacifica is available in both front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The XC90 doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Pacifica is less expensive to operate than the XC90 because it costs $545 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Pacifica than the XC90, including $656 less for a water pump, $180 less for a starter, $236 less for fuel injection, $228 less for a fuel pump, $15 less for front struts and $669 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Chrysler Pacifica, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Volvo XC90 isn't recommended.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Pacifica as the 2017 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The XC90 was last chosen in 2016.

The Chrysler Pacifica/Voyager outsold the Volvo XC90 by almost three to one during 2022.

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