Compare the2025 Volvo V90 Cross CountryVS 2025 Porsche Cayenne

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo V90 Cross Country have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Porsche Cayenne doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear 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 V90 Cross Country are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Volvo V90 Cross Country offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. Porsche doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Cayenne. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; V90 Cross Country owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

The V90 Cross Country has a standard Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WHIPS moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. At the same time the pretensioning seatbelts fire, removing slack from the belts. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the V90 Cross Country and the Cayenne have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the V90 Cross Country for 2 years and 20,000 miles longer than Porsche pays for maintenance for the Cayenne (3/30,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 39 percent more Volvo dealers than there are Porsche dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the V90 Cross Country’s warranty.

On the EPA test cycle the V90 Cross Country gets better mileage than the Cayenne running its gasoline engine:

The V90 Cross Country has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo V90 Cross Country higher (6 out of 10) than the Porsche Cayenne (4). This means the V90 Cross Country produces up to 12.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Cayenne every 15,000 miles.

The V90 Cross Country’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Cayenne’s standard 55 series front tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the V90 Cross Country’s wheelbase is 1.8 inches longer than on the Cayenne (115.8 inches vs. 114 inches).

For better maneuverability, the V90 Cross Country’s turning circle is 1.6 feet tighter than the Cayenne’s (38.1 feet vs. 39.7 feet).

The Volvo V90 Cross Country may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 1400 pounds less than the Porsche Cayenne.

The V90 Cross Country has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Cayenne with its rear seat folded (69 vs. 60.3 cubic feet).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the V90 Cross Country easier. The V90 Cross Country’s trunk lift-over height is 26.8 inches, while the Cayenne’s liftover is 31 inches.

The V90 Cross Country’s cargo area is larger than the Cayenne’s in almost every dimension:

The V90 Cross Country has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

If the windows are left open on the V90 Cross Country the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Cayenne can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the V90 Cross Country has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the Cayenne only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The V90 Cross Country offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Cayenne doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.