Where each one leads
Nissan Altima
- On Canada's official test the most frugal 2025 Nissan Altima uses 8.2 l/100 km, the 1995 Volvo 940 12.1.
Volvo 940
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
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
| Nissan Altima | Volvo 940 | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 1992–2026 | 1990–1998 |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | — | 2,016 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | — | 3,677 |
| In traffic in Finland | — | 1,463 |
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
| Nissan Altima | Volvo 940 | |
|---|---|---|
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.1% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | +19% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | — | 11.0% |
| US owner complaints | 15,482 | 122 |
| Most complaints about | Power train | Air bags |
| Model year with most complaints | 2013 (2,313) | 1994 (41) |
| US recall campaigns | 54 | 3 |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 3,959 | 375 |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 41 | 7 |
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
| Nissan Altima | Volvo 940 | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2027) | — |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Nissan Altima | Volvo 940 | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 8.2 l/100 km (2025) | 12.1 l/100 km (1995) |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | — | €35,558 |
| Average odometer in Finland | — | 365,000 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).