For enhanced safety, the front and middle seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC90 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Genesis GV80 doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.
The Volvo XC90 offers an optional built in child booster seat. It’s more crash worthy than an added child seat because of its direct attachment to the seat. Genesis doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the GV80. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC90 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC90 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC90’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The GV80’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
The XC90 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 GV80 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Compared to metal, the XC90’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Genesis GV80 has a metal gas tank.
Both the XC90 and the GV80 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, 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, driver alert monitors 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 XC90 is safer than the Genesis GV80:
|
XC90 |
GV80 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
328 |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
25 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
217 |
263 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
34% |
Neck Stress |
177 lbs. |
228 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
65 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
383/334 lbs. |
388/497 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 XC90 is safer than the Genesis GV80:
|
XC90 |
GV80 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
255 lbs. |
293 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
HIC |
209 |
290 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
41 G’s |
Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
640 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.