Compare the2026 Volvo XC60 VS 2026 Nissan Murano

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 Murano doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the XC60 and Murano 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 Murano’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. Nissan doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the Murano. 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 Murano’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 Murano doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The XC60 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 Murano 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 XC60 and Murano have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XC60 has Braking Intervention (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Murano’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the XC60 and the Murano 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, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, all-wheel drive, 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, 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 Nissan Murano:

	XC60	Murano
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	125	186
Neck Injury Risk	22%	24.2%
Neck Stress	198 lbs.	214 lbs.
Neck Compression	15 lbs.	17 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	178	373
Chest Compression	.5 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	28%	62.1%
Neck Stress	179 lbs.	214 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	329/351 lbs.	397/430 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 XC60 is safer than the Nissan Murano:

	XC60	Murano
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	73	83
Hip Force	190 lbs.	372 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	29 G’s	38 G’s
Hip Force	410 lbs.	562 lbs.

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

The XC60 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Murano’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The XC60’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Murano’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Volvo pays for scheduled maintenance on the XC60 for 2 years and 20,000 miles. Volvo will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Nissan doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Murano.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the XC60 has a standard 800-amp battery (850 T8). The Murano’s 760-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 Murano’s battery is in the hot engine compartment.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Volvo XC60’s reliability 14 points higher than the Murano.

The XC60 B5’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 6 more horsepower (247 vs. 241) and 6 lbs.-ft. more torque (266 vs. 260) than the Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder. The XC60 T8’s standard 2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cylinder hybrid produces 214 more horsepower (455 vs. 241) and 263 lbs.-ft. more torque (523 vs. 260) than the Murano’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Volvo XC60 is faster than the Nissan Murano:

	XC60 B5	XC60 T8	Murano
Zero to 60 MPH	6.2 sec	4.3 sec	7.7 sec
Quarter Mile	14.7 sec	n/a	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.5 MPH	n/a	91.2 MPH

On the EPA test cycle the XC60 T8 Extended Range running on electricity gets better mileage than the Murano (66 city/60 hwy MPGe vs. 21 city/27 hwy).

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

			MPG
XC60
	AWD	2.0 turbo/supercharged 4-cyl. Hybrid	28 city/28 hwy
		2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	23 city/30 hwy
Murano
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	21 city/27 hwy

The XC60 T8 Extended Range can travel with zero emissions for 35 miles. The Murano can’t move without running its internal combustion engine.

Regenerative brakes improve the XC60’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Murano doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

The XC60 has a standard locking fuel door, which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Murano. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Volvo XC60 higher (6 out of 10) than the Nissan Murano (5). This means the XC60 produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Murano every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered’s front brake rotors are larger than those on the Murano:

	XC60 T8 Polestar Engineered	Murano
Front Rotors	15.7 inches	13.8 inches

The XC60 stops shorter than the Murano:

	XC60	Murano
60 to 0 MPH	118 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

For better traction, the XC60’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Murano (265/35R22 vs. 255/55R20).

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 Murano Platinum’s 50 series tires.

The XC60 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Murano doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the XC60’s wheelbase is 1.6 inches longer than on the Murano (112.8 inches vs. 111.2 inches).

The XC60’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (54% to 46%) than the Murano’s (58.8% to 41.2%). This gives the XC60 more stable handling and braking.

The XC60 B5 Core handles at .87 G’s, while the Murano Platinum pulls only .77 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The XC60 T8 Ultra executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Murano Platinum (26.4 seconds @ .71 average G’s vs. 28 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the XC60’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Murano’s (37.4 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

For greater off-road capability the XC60 has a greater minimum ground clearance than the Murano (8.5 vs. 8.3 inches), allowing the XC60 to travel over rougher terrain without being stopped or damaged.

The Volvo XC60 may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs up to about 250 pounds less than the Nissan Murano.

The XC60 is 7.5 inches shorter than the Murano, 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 Murano (.34) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the XC60 get better fuel mileage.

The front step up height for the XC60 is .8 inches lower than the Murano (19” vs. 19.8”). The XC60’s rear step up height is 1.1 inches lower than the Murano’s (19.5” vs. 20.6”).

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 Murano’s liftover is 30.7 inches.

The XC60’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the Murano’s (3500 vs. 1500 pounds).

Standard Trailer Stability Assist (TSA) on the XC60 uses the Dynamic Stability and Traction Control sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The Murano doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Murano SL/Platinum, the XC60 Ultra/Polestar 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.

If the windows are left open on the XC60 the driver can close all of them 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 Murano can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The XC60’s standard Keyless Entry & Drive allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the vehicle, all without removing the key from pocket or purse. Intelligent Key standard on the Murano doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear doors.

The XC60’s power window, power lock, power mirror and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Murano’s power window and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The XC60’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Murano’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Murano doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The XC60 offers available headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Murano doesn’t offer headlight washers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the XC60 has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Murano doesn’t offer cornering lights. The XC60 also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The XC60’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 Murano offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Volvo XC60 has power folding mirrors that offer unparalleled convenience while maneuvering in tight places or parked. With the mirrors folded it’s easier to walk past and help prevent parking damage. The mirrors can be quickly unfolded when the driver is ready to leave. Power folding mirrors are only offered on the Murano Platinum.

According to iSeeCars.com the 2026 Volvo XC60 retains 46.33% of its original value after 5 years, more than the 44.66% resale value of the 2026 Nissan Murano after five years, which can save the Volvo’s owner.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Volvo XC60, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Nissan Murano isn't recommended.

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