Where each one leads
Land Rover Defender
- Against cars of the same age, the Land Rover Defender comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 5% more often than average) than the Volvo XC90 (passes 2% more often than average).
- Against cars of the same year, the Land Rover Defender comes out better in New York safety inspections (fails 56% less often than average) than the Volvo XC90 (fails 32% less often than average).
Volvo XC90
- Fewer Volvo XC90 cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (5.2% against 5.9%).
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2026 Volvo XC90 uses 10.4 l/100 km, the 2026 Land Rover Defender 14.9.
- New Volvo XC90 cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 102 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 222 for the Land Rover Defender in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the diesel hybrid Volvo XC90 uses 8.3 l/100 km on the road, the Land Rover Defender 10.2.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the diesel Volvo XC90 uses 8.4 l/100 km on the road, the Land Rover Defender 10.2.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol hybrid Volvo XC90 uses 10.6 l/100 km on the road, the Land Rover Defender 14.0.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Land Rover Defender | Volvo XC90 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1990–2026 | 2003–2025 |
| New cars registered in Europe | 26,400 (2010–2022) | 244,724 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 65,293 | 93,504 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 6,990 | 32,495 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 218 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Land Rover Defender | Volvo XC90 | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 68% | 72% |
| … against cars of the same age | +5% | +2% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| … against cars of the same year | −56% | −32% |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| US owner complaints | 313 | 1,534 |
| Most complaints about | Electrical system | Electrical system |
| Model year with most complaints | 2023 (85) | 2004 (462) |
| US recall campaigns | 20 | 35 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 1,615 | 5,739 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 1 | 14 |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Land Rover Defender | Volvo XC90 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | — | 5★ (2027) |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Land Rover Defender | Volvo XC90 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 14.9 l/100 km (2026) | 10.4 l/100 km (2026) |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid | 10.2 l/100 km | 8.3 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, diesel | 10.2 l/100 km | 8.4 l/100 km |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 15.4 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 14.0 l/100 km | 10.6 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 222 g/km | 102 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 222 kW (298 hp) | 205 kW (275 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 2,537 kg | 2,239 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €90,920 | €88,925 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 258,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).