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 XC60 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Volvo XC60 offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. Audi doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Q5 Sportback. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC60 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.
The Volvo XC60 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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer knee airbags.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC60 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC60’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Q5 Sportback’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The XC60 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 Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
With its standard Collision Warning with Full Autobrake, the Volvo XC60 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q5 Sportback, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
XC60 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
MARGINAL |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
-22 MPH |
-22 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-8 MPH |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-1 MPH |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-13 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-2 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
-24 MPH |
-2 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
No Slowing |
37 MPH Brights |
-23 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2 sec |
No Warning |
37 MPH Low beams |
-11 MPH |
No Slowing |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
.6 sec |
No Warning |
The XC60’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Q5 Sportback doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the XC60 and the Q5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and available 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 XC60 is safer than the Audi Q5 Sportback:
|
XC60 |
Q5 Sportback |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
284 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
22% |
Neck Stress |
198 lbs. |
215 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
15 lbs. |
44 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
178 |
187 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.7 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
34% |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the XC60 is much safer than the Q5 Sportback:
|
XC60 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
POOR |
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 XC60 is safer than the Audi Q5 Sportback:
|
XC60 |
Q5 Sportback |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
190 lbs. |
279 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
45 G’s |
53 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
15 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
35 G’s |
Hip Force |
410 lbs. |
600 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Volvo XC60 is safer than the Q5 Sportback:
|
XC60 |
Q5 Sportback |
Overall Evaluation |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
201 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
45 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Shoulder Deflection |
.59 in |
.71 in |
Shoulder Force |
89 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
195 |
346 |
Neck Tension |
89 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.22 in |
1.73 in |
Shoulder Force |
357 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.26 in |
1.54 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
8 MPH |
11 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |