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 Audi SQ7 doesn’t offer height-adjustable middle seat belts.
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 XC90 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The SQ7 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
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. Audi doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the SQ7. 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.
The Volvo XC90 has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The SQ7 doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 SQ7’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 SQ7 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
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 SQ7 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the XC90 and the SQ7 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, 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 Audi SQ7:
|
|
XC90 |
SQ7 |
| OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Neck Compression |
18 lbs. |
37 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.7 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
44% |
| Neck Compression |
25 lbs. |
38 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
A significantly tougher test than their original offset frontal crash test, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH small overlap frontal offset crash tests. In this test, where only 25% of the total width of the vehicle is struck, results indicate that the Volvo XC90 is safer than the SQ7:
|
|
XC90 |
SQ7 |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head Neck Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Head injury index |
37 |
225 |
| Peak Head Forces |
0 G’s |
0 G’s |
| Chest Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Max Chest Compression |
16 cm |
30 cm |
| Hip & Thigh Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Hip & Thigh Injury Risk R/L |
0%/0% |
4%/0% |
| Lower Leg Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Tibia index R/L |
.24/.41 |
.57/.7 |
| Tibia forces R/L |
1.1/.2 kN |
4.2/.3 kN |
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 Audi SQ7:
|
|
XC90 |
SQ7 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
51 |
187 |
| Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.8 inches |
| Hip Force |
255 lbs. |
350 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
94 |
337 |
| Spine Acceleration |
40 G’s |
62 G’s |
| Hip Force |
608 lbs. |
888 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
13 inches |
| HIC |
209 |
290 |
| Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
40 G’s |
| Hip Force |
383 lbs. |
557 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 SQ7 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.