Compare the2025 Volvo XC40VS 2024 Dodge Hornet

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC40 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 Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

The XC40’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Hornet doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC40 and Hornet have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC40 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 Hornet’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.

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 XC40 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The XC40 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 Hornet 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 XC40 and Hornet have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XC40 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the XC40 and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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 and available around view monitors.

The XC40 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Hornet’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The XC40’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Hornet’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC40 for 3 years and 30,000 miles. Volvo will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Hornet.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC40 has a standard 760-amp battery. The Hornet’s 700-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Volvo vehicles are better in initial quality than Dodge vehicles. With 59 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Volvo higher than Dodge.

On the EPA test cycle the XC40 T5 gets better fuel mileage than the Hornet GT running its gasoline engine (23 city/30 hwy vs. 21 city/29 hwy).

The XC40 has 3 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (14.2 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the XC40’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Hornet:

The XC40 stops much shorter than the Hornet:

For better traction, the XC40 has larger standard tires than the Hornet (235/55R18 vs. 215/60R17). The XC40’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (245/45R20 vs. 235/40R20).

The XC40’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Hornet GT’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the XC40 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Hornet GT.

The XC40 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 Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XC40’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the Hornet (106.4 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the XC40 is .8 inches wider in the front and 1.8 inches wider in the rear than on the Hornet.

The XC40 B5 Plus handles at .86 G’s, while the Hornet GT pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

For better maneuverability, the XC40’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Hornet R/T’s (37.4 feet vs. 37.9 feet). The XC40’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Hornet GT’s (37.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

For greater off-road capability the XC40 has a 2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the Hornet R/T (8.1 vs. 6.1 inches), allowing the XC40 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The XC40 is 3.2 inches shorter than the Hornet, making the XC40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The XC40 has .2 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room and 1.5 inches more rear shoulder room than the Hornet.

The front step up height for the XC40 is 2.1 inches lower than the Hornet (17.7” vs. 19.8”). The XC40’s rear step up height is 1.5 inches lower than the Hornet’s (18.2” vs. 19.7”).

The XC40 has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Hornet with its rear seat folded (57.5 vs. 54.7 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XC40 easier. The XC40’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.7 inches, while the Hornet’s liftover is 31.8 inches.

The XC40’s cargo area is larger than the Hornet’s in almost every dimension:

A control in the cargo area automatically lowers the XC40’s optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Hornet 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 XC40. The Hornet doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The XC40’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Hornet’s (3500 vs. 2000 pounds).

Optional Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the XC40 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 Hornet doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the XC40 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Hornet only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

Consumer Reports rated the XC40’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the Hornet’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

The Hornet’s optional cornering lamps activate a lamp on the front corner when the turn signal is activated. The XC40’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.

When the XC40 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 Hornet’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The XC40’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 Hornet offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The XC40 has standard heated front seats. Heated front seats cost extra on the Hornet. The XC40 also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the Hornet.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Volvo XC40 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Hornet.

The Volvo XC40 outsold the Dodge Hornet by over three to one during 2023.