Compare the2025 Volvo S60VS 2025 Lexus ES

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The S60’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The ES doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the S60 and ES have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S60 Plus/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 ES’ 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 S60 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 ES doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the S60 has standard Cross Traffic Alert with Braking Intervention, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Rear Cross-Traffic Braking costs extra on the ES.

Both the S60 and the ES have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, 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 Volvo S60 is safer than the Lexus ES:

	S60	ES
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Stress	189 lbs.	239 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	395/518 lbs.	524/628 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	314	319
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	30%	33%
Neck Stress	146 lbs.	159 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	360/533 lbs.	473/518 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Volvo S60 is safer than the Lexus ES:

	S60	ES
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	212 lbs.	264 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	271	300
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	13 inches
HIC	319	326
Spine Acceleration	29 G’s	36 G’s
Hip Force	490 lbs.	570 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The S60’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the ES’ (12 vs. 6 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the S60 for 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the ES (3/30,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 15 percent more Volvo dealers than there are Lexus dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the S60’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the S60 has a standard 800-amp battery. The ES’ 603-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The battery on the S60 is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the S60’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The ES’ battery is in the hot engine compartment.

Engine

The S60 has more powerful engines than the ES:

	Horsepower	Torque
S60 B5 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	247 HP	258 lbs.-ft.
S60 T8 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid	455 HP	523 lbs.-ft.
ES 250 Luxury AWD 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder	203 HP	184 lbs.-ft.
ES 300h 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	215 HP
ES 350 3.5 DOHC V6	302 HP	267 lbs.-ft.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the S60 running on electricity gets better mileage than the ES:

			MPGe
S60
	AWD	T8 Electric Motor	74 city/73 hwy
ES
			MPG
	FWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	43 city/44 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/32 hwy
		F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/31 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy

On the EPA test cycle the S60 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the ES:

			MPG
S60
	FWD	B5 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	27 city/36 hwy
	AWD	B5 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	25 city/34 hwy
		T8 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	30 city/33 hwy
ES
	FWD	3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/32 hwy
		F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/31 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy

The S60 T8 can travel with zero emissions for 41 miles. The ES has to start its internal combustion engine after only 1.6 miles.

Regardless of its engine, the S60’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip (not available T8). Lexus only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the ES Hybrid, and doesn’t offer a disable button.

The S60 has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the ES Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The S60 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The ES doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the S60’s brake rotors are larger than those on the ES:

	S60	ES
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	12.6 inches	11.1 inches

The S60’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the ES are solid, not vented.

The S60 stops much shorter than the ES:

	S60	ES
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	140 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the S60 has larger tires than the ES (235/45R18 vs. 215/55R17).

The S60’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the ES’ standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S60 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the ES.

Suspension and Handling

The S60 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The ES’ suspension doesn’t offer rear gas-charged shocks.

The S60 Plus AWD handles at .91 G’s, while the ES 300h pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The S60 AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the ES 300h (25.4 seconds @ .75 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the S60’s turning circle is .9 feet tighter than the ES’ (37.1 feet vs. 38 feet).

Chassis

The S60 is 7.8 inches shorter than the ES, making the S60 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The S60 has .3 inches more front hip room, .2 inches more front shoulder room and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the ES.

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the S60 easier. The S60’s trunk lift-over height is 26 inches, while the ES’ liftover is 27.4 inches.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the S60’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the ES’ useful trunk space.

The S60 Plus/Ultra’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The ES doesn’t offer folding rear seats, only a ski pass-through.

Towing

The S60 has a 2000 lbs. towing capacity. The ES has no towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Stability Assist on the S60 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 ES doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system optional at extra cost in the ES, the S60 Ultra has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The S60’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 ES’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the S60 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The ES doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Consumer Reports rated the S60’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the ES’ headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The S60 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The ES doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The ES’ optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The S60’s standard adaptive cornering lights turn the actual headlight unit up to several degrees, depending on steering wheel angle and vehicle speed. This lights a significant distance into corners at any speed.

The Volvo S60 has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors costs extra on the ES.

Both the S60 and the ES offer optional heated front seats. The S60 also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the ES.

The S60 Plus/Ultimate/Polestar’s Park Assist Pilot can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The ES doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the S60 is less expensive to operate than the ES because typical repairs cost much less on the S60 than the ES, including $24 less for a starter, $30 less for fuel injection, $232 less for front struts, $1034 less for a timing belt/chain and $873 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volvo S60 and the Lexus ES, based on reliability, safety and performance.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2019 issue and they ranked the Volvo S60 Plus AWD higher than the Lexus ES 300h.

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