Compare the2023 Nissan AriyaVS 2024 Volvo C40 Recharge

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 Ariya are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Nissan Ariya 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 C40 Recharge doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Both the Ariya and the C40 Recharge 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 performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ariya its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 67 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The C40 Recharge has not been fully tested, yet.

Nissan’s powertrain warranty covers the Ariya 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Volvo covers the C40 Recharge. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the C40 Recharge ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 4 times as many Nissan dealers as there are Volvo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Ariya’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Volvo vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 70 more problems per 100 vehicles, Volvo is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Volvo With 51 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Nissan higher than Volvo.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Nissan vehicles are more reliable than Volvo vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Nissan 8 places higher in reliability than Volvo.

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

The Ariya has a standard locking charge port which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The C40 Recharge doesn’t have a locking charge port. A locking charge port prevents tampering and damage.

For better stopping power the Ariya’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the C40 Recharge:

The Ariya stops much shorter than the C40 Recharge:

For better traction, the Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the C40 Recharge (255/45R20 vs. 235/45R20).

The Ariya has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ariya’s wheelbase is 2.9 inches longer than on the C40 Recharge (109.3 inches vs. 106.4 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Ariya is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than on the C40 Recharge.

The Ariya Platinum+ handles at .86 G’s, while the C40 Recharge Ultimate pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the Ariya’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the C40 Recharge’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

For greater off-road capability the Ariya Engage has a greater minimum ground clearance than the C40 Recharge (6.9 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the Ariya to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Nissan Ariya may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 450 pounds less than the Volvo C40 Recharge.

The Ariya Platinum+ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ariya has .2 inches more front headroom, 1.4 inches more front legroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.6 inches more rear headroom and .9 inches more rear legroom than the C40 Recharge.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ariya’s rear seats recline. The C40 Recharge’s rear seats don’t recline.

The Ariya has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the C40 Recharge with its rear seat up (22.8 vs. 17.3 cubic feet). The Ariya has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the C40 Recharge with its rear seat folded (59.7 vs. 48.7 cubic feet).

The Ariya’s cargo area is larger than the C40 Recharge’s in every dimension:

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the Ariya has standard extendable sun visors. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer extendable visors.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Ariya Platinum+ keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

The Ariya Empower+/Platinum+’s ProPILOT Park can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The C40 Recharge doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Ariya first among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The C40 Recharge was rated second in its category.