The EX90’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Ariya doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
Both the EX90 and Ariya 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 Ariya’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. Nissan doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Ariya. 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 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 Ariya 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 Nissan Ariya 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 Ariya 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 Ariya have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EX90 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Ariya’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the EX90 and the Ariya have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.
The Volvo EX90 weighs 488 to 1607 pounds more than the Nissan Ariya. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the EX90 is much safer than the Ariya:
|
|
EX90 |
Ariya |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
| Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
POOR |
| Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
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 Ariya is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2026.