Compare the2025 Volvo EX40VS 2024 Nissan Ariya

The EX40’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 EX40 and Ariya have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EX40 Ultra 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 EX40 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 EX40 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 EX40 and Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EX40 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 EX40 and the Ariya have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, 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.

The EX40 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 EX40’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Ariya’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the EX40 for 1 year and 4000 miles longer than Nissan pays for maintenance for the Ariya (4/40,000 vs. 3/36,000).

The EX40 has more powerful engines than the Ariya:

As tested in Car and Driver the EX40 Twin Motor electric motors is faster than the Ariya + electric motor:

On the EPA test cycle the EX40 gets better mileage than the Ariya:

The EX40 can travel longer on a full charge than the Ariya on a full charge:

For better stopping power the EX40’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Ariya:

The EX40 stops shorter than the Ariya:

For better traction and acceleration, the EX40 has larger rear tires than the Ariya (255/45R19 vs. 235/55R19). The EX40’s rear tires are larger than the largest rear tires available on the Ariya (255/45R19 vs. 245/45R20).

The EX40’s standard 235/50R19 front and 255/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Ariya’s standard 55 series tires. The EX40 Ultra’s 255/40R20 rear tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Ariya Platinum+’s optional 45 series tires.

For greater off-road capability the EX40 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Ariya (6.9 vs. 6.7 inches), allowing the EX40 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The EX40 is 8.1 inches shorter than the Ariya, making the EX40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The EX40 has 2.1 inches more rear hip room and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Ariya.

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the EX40’s optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Ariya doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the EX40. The Ariya doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The EX40’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Ariya’s (2000 vs. 0 pounds).

Optional Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the EX40 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 EX40 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 EX40 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 EX40 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 Ariya can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The EX40’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 optional on the EX40 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.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The EX40 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Ariya doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the EX40 Ultra has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Ariya doesn’t offer cornering lights. The EX40 Ultra also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The EX40’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 EX40 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Only the Ariya Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ offers wireless charging.

The Volvo XC40 outsold the Nissan Ariya by over two to one during 2023.