Both the XC90 and QX80 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 QX80’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 QX80. 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 QX80’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
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 QX80 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 QX80.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC90’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The QX80 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The XC90’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 QX80 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
For better protection of the passenger compartment, the XC90 uses safety cell construction with a three-dimensional high-strength frame that surrounds the passenger compartment. It provides extra impact protection and a sturdy mounting location for door hardware and side impact beams. The QX80 uses a body-on-frame design, which has no frame members above the floor of the vehicle.
Both the XC90 and the QX80 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, plastic fuel tanks, 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 QX80:
|
|
XC90 |
QX80 |
| OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
2 Stars |
| HIC |
137 |
384 |
| Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
36% |
| Neck Stress |
252 lbs. |
439 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
95 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
567/631 lbs. |
983/651 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
| HIC |
217 |
285 |
| Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
1.2 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
37% |
| Neck Stress |
177 lbs. |
219 lbs. |
| Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
78 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
383/334 lbs. |
452/534 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 QX80:
|
|
XC90 |
QX80 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
1 inches |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
16 inches |
| HIC |
209 |
437 |
| Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
39 G’s |
| Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
684 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the XC90, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 2.8% to 7.8% less likely to roll over than the QX80, which received a three-star rating.
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 QX80 has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.