Compare the2025 Volvo EC40VS 2024 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid

Safety
Warranty
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo EC40 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 Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The EC40’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the EC40 and Tucson Plug-In Hybrid have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’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 EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The EC40 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid 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 EC40 and the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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 Volvo EC40 weighs 553 to 655 pounds more than the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Warranty

The EC40’s corrosion warranty is 5 years longer than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s (12 vs. 7 years).

Engine

The EC40’s standard electric motor produces 52 lbs.-ft. more torque (310 vs. 258) than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid. The EC40’s optional electric motors produces 141 more horsepower (402 vs. 261) and 236 lbs.-ft. more torque (494 vs. 258) than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the EC40 gets better mileage than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid running on electricity:

			MPGe
EC40
	FWD	Electric Motor	118 city/95 hwy
	AWD	Electric Motors	105 city/88 hwy
Tucson Plug-In Hybrid
	AWD	Electric Motor	87 city/74 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the EC40 gets better mileage than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid running its gasoline engine:

			MPGe
EC40
	FWD	Electric Motor	118 city/95 hwy
	AWD	Electric Motors	105 city/88 hwy
Tucson Plug-In Hybrid
			MPG
	AWD	1.6 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	35 city/35 hwy

The EC40 can travel with zero emissions on a full charge for 268 to 298 miles. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid has to start its internal combustion engine after only 33 miles.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo EC40 higher (10 out of 10) than the Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid (7). This means the EC40 produces up to 11.8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the EC40’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid:

	EC40	Tucson Plug-In Hybrid
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12.8 inches
Rear Rotors	13.4 inches	12 inches

The EC40’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

The EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s standard 55 series tires. The EC40’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EC40 offers optional 20-inch wheels. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s largest wheels are only 19-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The EC40 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For better maneuverability, the EC40’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.6 feet).

Chassis

The EC40 is 7.5 inches shorter than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid, making the EC40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The EC40 has .2 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more rear hip room and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid.

Servicing Ease

The EC40 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid 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 EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat in the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid Limited, the EC40 has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The EC40’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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the EC40 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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The EC40’s standard Keyless Entry & Drive allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Proximity Key standard on the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

The EC40’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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the EC40 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid 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 EC40 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the EC40 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer cornering lights. The EC40 also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

When the EC40 is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The EC40’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 Tucson Plug-In Hybrid offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Volvo EC40 and Hyundai Tucson Plug-In Hybrid offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The EC40 features standard power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Tucson Plug-In Hybrid’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

Model Availability

The EC40 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Tucson Plug-In Hybrid doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

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