Compare the2026 Volvo XC60VS 2025 Lexus RX

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The XC60’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The RX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC60 and RX have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC60 Plus/Ultra/Polestar 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 RX’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 XC60 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. Lexus doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the RX. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC60 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC60 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC60’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The RX’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The XC60 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 RX doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the XC60. But it costs extra on the RX.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XC60’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The RX doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

Both the XC60 and the RX 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, four-wheel antilock brakes, 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, driver alert monitors 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 XC60 is safer than the Lexus RX:

	XC60	RX
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	125	165
Neck Injury Risk	22%	29.8%
Neck Stress	198 lbs.	301 lbs.
Neck Compression	15 lbs.	17 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	178	472
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	28%	30.7%
Neck Compression	55 lbs.	114 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	329/351 lbs.	454/389 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

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 XC60 is much safer than the RX:

	XC60	RX
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
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	POOR

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 XC60 is safer than the Lexus RX:

	XC60	RX
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	190 lbs.	206 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	15 inches
HIC	237	317
Spine Acceleration	29 G’s	47 G’s
Hip Force	410 lbs.	919 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The XC60’s corrosion warranty is 6 years longer than the RX’s (12 vs. 6 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC60 for 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the RX (2/20,000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 15 percent more Volvo dealers than there are Lexus dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the XC60’s warranty.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC60 has a standard 800-amp battery (850 T8). The RX’s 603-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

The battery on the XC60 is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the XC60’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The RX’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

Engine

The XC60 has more powerful engines than the RX:

	Horsepower	Torque
XC60 B5 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	247 HP	266 lbs.-ft.
XC60 T8 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid	455 HP	523 lbs.-ft.
RX 350h 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	246 HP	233 lbs.-ft.
RX 350 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder	275 HP	317 lbs.-ft.
RX 450h+ Luxury 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid	304 HP
RX 500h F Sport Performance 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid	366 HP	406 lbs.-ft.

As tested in Motor Trend the Volvo XC60 is faster than the Lexus RX:

	XC60 B5	XC60 T8	RX 350h	RX 350
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	4.3 sec	7.4 sec	7.6 sec
Zero to 80 MPH	10.6 sec	n/a	12.6 sec	n/a
Passing 45 to 65 MPH	3.4 sec	n/a	4 sec	n/a
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	n/a	15.7 sec	15.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.5 MPH	n/a	89.2 MPH	89.9 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the RX running its gasoline engine:

			MPG
XC60
	AWD	2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	28 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
RX
	FWD	350 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	22 city/29 hwy
	AWD	500h 2.4 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	27 city/28 hwy
		350 2.4 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/28 hwy

The XC60 has 4.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the RX 450+’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The XC60 has a gallon more fuel capacity than the RX 350’s standard fuel tank (18.8 vs. 17.8 gallons).

The XC60 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 RX doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the XC60’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the RX:

	XC60	RX
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13.4 inches

The XC60 stops much shorter than the RX:

	XC60	RX
70 to 0 MPH	165 feet	195 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	131 feet	139 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	144 feet	149 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the XC60’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RX (265/35R22 vs. 235/60R19).

The XC60’s optional tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RX’s optional 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The XC60 has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The RX base model’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks. The RX 350h suspension doesn’t offer rear gas-charged shocks.

The XC60 handles at .88 G’s, while the RX 500h F Sport Performance pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The XC60 B5 Core executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2 seconds quicker than the RX 350h (26.6 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.6 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For greater off-road capability the XC60 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the RX 350 (8.5 vs. 8.1 inches), allowing the XC60 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged. The XC60’s minimum ground clearance is .3 inch higher than on the RX 350h (8.5 vs. 8.2 inches).

Chassis

The XC60 is 7.1 inches shorter than the RX, making the XC60 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The design of the Volvo XC60 amounts to more than styling. The XC60 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .32 Cd. That is lower than the RX (.35) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the XC60 get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

The XC60 has .4 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front shoulder room and .6 inches more rear legroom than the RX.

Cargo Capacity

The XC60 has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the RX with its rear seat folded (63.3 vs. 46.2 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the XC60 easier. The XC60’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 26 inches, while the RX’s liftover is 31 inches.

Towing

The XC60’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the RX’s (3500 vs. 0 pounds).

Ergonomics

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the XC60 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The RX doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Consumer Reports rated the XC60’s headlight performance “Very Good,” a higher rating than the RX’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The XC60 Ultra offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the RX.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Volvo XC60 and the Lexus RX, based on reliability, safety and performance.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the XC60 as the 2018 North American Utility Vehicle of the Year. The RX has never been chosen.

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