Both the XC90 and QX60 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC90 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 QX60’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.
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. Infiniti doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the QX60. 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 QX60’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 QX60 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The XC90 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 QX60 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 XC90. But it costs extra on the QX60.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC90’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX60 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
Both the XC90 and QX60 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XC90 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The QX60’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the XC90 and the QX60 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, 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 XC90 is safer than the Infiniti QX60:
|
XC90 |
QX60 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
137 |
150 |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
31% |
Neck Stress |
252 lbs. |
348 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
53 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
217 |
312 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
45.1% |
Neck Stress |
177 lbs. |
216 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
93 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 Infiniti QX60:
|
XC90 |
QX60 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
51 |
84 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
HIC |
209 |
234 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
37 G’s |
Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
466 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 XC90 is safer than the QX60:
|
XC90 |
QX60 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
123 |
125 |
Neck Tension |
245 lbs. |
268 lbs. |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
759 lbs. |
1160 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Volvo XC90 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The QX60 is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024, though it hasn’t yet been rated in the updated moderate overlap frontal test, a requirement for the “Top Safety Pick Plus” award.