2021 Volvo XC40 vs 2021 Toyota Highlander

Introduced for the 2019 model year, the Volvo XC40 enters 2021 with one major change—the addition of an all-electric powertrain option. The 2021 Volvo XC40 Recharge is the Swedish automaker’s first mass-market electric vehicle, in fact.

The Recharge will be sold alongside gasoline versions of the XC40, which carry over largely unchanged, and compete against small luxury crossovers like the Audi Q3, BMW X1, Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class, and Lexus UX. With its electric powertrain, the Recharge is a de facto Tesla Model Y competitor. It’s also priced similar to high-end versions of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, although the two electric crossovers have somewhat different philosophies.

In addition to that zero-emission powertrain, the Recharge gets an Android-based operating system, over-the-air (OTA) software update capability for all vehicle systems, and some updates to driver-assist tech. These changes don’t apply to gasoline 2021 XC40 models, but Volvo does plan to add the Android operating system to more vehicles in the future.

Since the Recharge is the main new thing for the 2021 XC40, that’s what we focused on for this review. While the gasoline XC40 is available in three trim levels—Momentum, R-Design, and Inscription—with front-wheel drive (FWD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), the Recharge is only offered in a single trim level, with standard AWD.

Toyota hardly needs any help selling three-row Highlanders. It already sits close to the top of the sales charts for its segment, and few vehicles carry the name recognition as the Highlander, which enters into its 20th year of production.

But the three-row marketplace is a competitive one, and even after a 2020 redesign, Toyota would be foolish to rest on its laurels. As such, the Highlander enters this year with additional safety-feature technology listed as standard equipment.