Compare the2026 Volvo EX90VS 2026 Mercedes EQE SUV

Both the EX90 and EQE SUV have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The EX90 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 EQE SUV’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 EX90 (except 6-Passenger) 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. Mercedes doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the EQE SUV. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; EX90 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

The Volvo EX90 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The EQE SUV doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

The EX90 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. The EQE SUV doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Volvo EX90 achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Mercedes EQE SUV has not been tested.

The EX90 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 EQE SUV 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 EX90 and the EQE SUV have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Volvo EX90 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2026 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, a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test, and a “Good” score in the revised vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention test. The EQE SUV has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2026.

The EX90’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the EQE SUV’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the EX90 for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volvo will pay for tire rotations, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Mercedes doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the EQE SUV.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2025 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes With 1 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volvo higher than Mercedes.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2026 Auto Issue reports that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Volvo 4 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The EX90 has more powerful engines than the EQE SUV:

On the EPA test cycle the EX90 gets better mileage than the EQE SUV:

The EX90 can travel longer on a full charge than the EQE SUV on a full charge:

For better stopping power the EX90’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the EQE SUV:

The EX90 stops much shorter than the EQE SUV:

For better traction and acceleration, the EX90 has larger standard rear tires than the EQE SUV (285/45R20 vs. 255/45R20). The EX90 Ultra’s rear tires are larger than the largest rear tires available on the EQE SUV (295/45R21 vs. 275/35R22).

The EX90 Ultra Twin Motor Performance handles at .88 G’s, while the EQE SUV 320+ pulls only .85 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The EX90 Ultra Twin Motor Performance executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the EQE SUV 320+ (25.9 seconds @ .75 average G’s vs. 26.4 seconds @ .67 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the EX90 has a 3.2 inches greater minimum ground clearance than the EQE SUV (8.4 vs. 5.2 inches), allowing the EX90 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The EX90’s minimum ground clearance is .9 inch higher than on the AMG EQE SUV (8.5 vs. 7.6 inches).

The front grille of the EX90 uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The EQE SUV doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The EX90 has standard seating for 7 passengers; the EQE SUV can only carry 5.

The EX90 has 4.7 inches more front headroom, .3 inches more front legroom, 2.2 inches more rear headroom and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the EQE SUV.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the EX90’s middle row seats recline. The EQE SUV’s rear seats don’t recline.

The EX90’s cargo area provides more volume than the EQE SUV.

The EX90’s minimum standard towing capacity is much higher than the EQE SUV’s (3307 vs. 0 pounds).

A Trailer Stability Assist is standard on the EX90, using 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. A trailer sway program costs extra on the EQE SUV.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the EX90 has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the EQE SUV only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The EX90 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The EQE SUV doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The EX90 has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the vehicle heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the EQE SUV.

The Volvo EX90/XC90 outsold the Mercedes EQE SUV by over five to one during 2025.