The XC60’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Model Y doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
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 Model Y 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. Tesla doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Model Y. 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.
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 Model Y’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 Model Y doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The XC60 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 Model Y 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.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the XC60. But it costs extra on the Model Y.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC60’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Model Y doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The XC60 Plus/Ultra/Polestar has a standard 360-Degree Surround View Camera to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Model Y only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the XC60’s standard Cross Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Braking Intervention automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Model Y doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
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 Model Y doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
The XC60 has standard Volvo On Call, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Model Y doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.
Both the XC60 and the Model Y 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rearview cameras.
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 Tesla Model Y:
|
XC60 |
Model Y |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
25% |
Neck Stress |
198 lbs. |
210 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
15 lbs. |
68 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
178 |
211 |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
28% |
Neck Compression |
55 lbs. |
189 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 XC60 is safer than the Tesla Model Y:
|
XC60 |
Model Y |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
126 lbs. |
145 lbs. |
Hip Force |
190 lbs. |
216 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
185 |
358 |
Spine Acceleration |
45 G’s |
45 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
237 |
283 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
39 G’s |
Hip Force |
410 lbs. |
682 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.