Compare the2026 Volvo EX40 VS 2026 Jeep Recon

The EX40’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Recon doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The EX40 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 Recon doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The EX40 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 Recon 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 EX40 and Recon have rear cross-traffic warning, but the EX40 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Recon’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the EX40 and the Recon 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, 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 EX40 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Recon’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The EX40’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Recon’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the EX40 for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volvo will pay for cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Jeep doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Recon.

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 Jeep With 33 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Volvo higher than Jeep.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ March 2026 Auto Issue reports that Volvo vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Volvo 9 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

On the EPA test cycle the EX40 gets better mileage than the Recon:

			MPGe
EX40
	FWD	Single Electric Motor	118 city/94 hwy
	AWD	Twin Electric Motors	103 city/85 hwy
Recon
	AWD	Electric Motors	91 city/70 hwy

The EX40 can travel longer on a full charge than the Recon on a full charge:

			Miles
EX40
	FWD	Single Electric Motor	296 miles
	AWD	Twin Electric Motors	260 miles
Recon
	AWD	Electric Motors	250 miles
		Moab Electric Motors	230 miles

The EX40’s standard 235/50R19 front and 255/45R19 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series front and 45 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Recon’s standard 70 series tires. The EX40’s optional 235/45R20 front and 255/40R20 rear tires have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile than the Recon’s 70 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the EX40 has standard 19-inch wheels. Only 18-inch wheels are available on the Recon. The EX40 offers optional 20-inch wheels.

For better maneuverability, the EX40’s turning circle is 3.1 feet tighter than the Recon’s (37.4 feet vs. 40.5 feet).

The Volvo EX40 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1500 to 1700 pounds less than the Jeep Recon.

The EX40 is 1 foot, 6.5 inches shorter than the Recon, making the EX40 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The EX40 is 8.8 inches shorter in height than the Recon, making the EX40 much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

The design of the Volvo EX40 amounts to more than styling. The EX40 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .329 Cd. That is significantly lower than the Recon (.404) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the EX40 get better fuel mileage.

The front step up height for the EX40 is 4.7 inches lower than the Recon (17.7” vs. 22.4”). The EX40’s rear step up height is 4.2 inches lower than the Recon’s (18.2” vs. 22.4”).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the EX40 easier. The EX40’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.7 inches, while the Recon’s liftover is 35.1 inches.

The EX40’s liftgate lifts up in one piece, completely out of the way of loading and unloading, while sheltering the cargo loading area. The Recon’s swing out door blocks loading from the driver’s side.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the EX40’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Recon doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its cargo door, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The EX40 has a higher standard payload capacity than the Recon (960 vs. 850 lbs.).

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The EX40 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Recon doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the EX40 offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Recon doesn’t offer cornering lights. The EX40 also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The EX40’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Recon has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Volvo EX40 and Jeep Recon offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The EX40 features standard power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Recon’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

The EX40 is available in both front-wheel drive and four-wheel drive configurations. The Recon doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.