Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Considering they both belong to the suv segment and utilize the same 5-door suv body style and the rear wheel drive system, it all comes up to the specific electric engine choice they offer. The first one has a Volvo-engineered powertrain under the hood, a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 238hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a PMSM Electric unit in formation 0 / 1 with 204hp engine designed by Tesla.

A starting point here would be to take a look at the results from European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) tests which were performed on both of the cars, with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. Still, apart from the official crash test results there are other things we need to be aware of. Both vehicles belong to the suv segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, the Swedish car offers a considerable difference of 14% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Tesla as a brand displays somewhat better results, at least on all of the models level. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Volvo with an average rating of 4.6, and models under the Tesla badge with out of 5. Unfortunatelly, I don't have enough insight that would allow me to comment in more details on the specific models level. Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as the Swedish car rank it on average as 3.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Tesla is undoubtly more agile, reaching 100km/h in 1.1 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 193 kilometers per hour, 13km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, especially if you take into account all the free charging points provided by the manufacturer and/or the local government's environmental programs. One of the essential things to consider when it comes to this type of vehicles would be range, giving a significant advantage to the Swedish car with its additional 91 kilometers on a single charge.

Volvo appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, the Swedish car offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. From there things take a different direction, with Tesla being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. The Swedish car provides significantly better range, something that shouldn't be overlooked. It's not difficult to say then that if I'd need to make a choice, it would definitely be the Volvo. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.