Compare the2026 Volvo V60 Cross Country VS 2026 BMW X3

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volvo V60 Cross Country are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the V60 Cross Country and X3 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The V60 Cross Country 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 X3’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.

Both the V60 Cross Country and the X3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, 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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Volvo V60 Cross Country is safer than the BMW X3:

	V60 Cross Country	X3
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	25.7%	32.2%
Neck Stress	189 lbs.	262 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	395/518 lbs.	546/448 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	30%	40.2%
Neck Stress	146 lbs.	168 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	360/533 lbs.	495/536 lbs.

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

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 V60 Cross Country is safer than the BMW X3:

	V60 Cross Country	X3
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	212 lbs.	214 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	575 lbs.	866 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	13 inches
Spine Acceleration	29 G’s	37 G’s

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the V60 Cross Country, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 7% less likely to roll over than the X3, which received a four-star rating.

The battery on the V60 Cross Country is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the V60 Cross Country’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The X3’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

For better stopping power the V60 Cross Country’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the X3:

	V60 Cross Country	X3
Front Rotors	13.6 inches	13 inches

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the V60 Cross Country is 1.2 inches wider in the front than the average track on the X3.

For better maneuverability, the V60 Cross Country’s turning circle is 2.9 feet tighter than the X3’s (37.1 feet vs. 40 feet).

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the X3, the V60 Cross Country Ultra has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the V60 Cross Country has a standard rear fixed intermittent wiper with a full on position. The rear wiper standard on the X3 only has an intermittent setting, so in a hard rain visibility isn’t as good.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The V60 Cross Country’s headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the X3’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The V60 Cross Country offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The X3 doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The V60 Cross Country offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the X3.

The V60 Cross Country has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning costs extra on the X3.