Volvo Towing Capacity by Model

On this page you can browse the 471 Volvo cars, trucks, and SUVs across 5 unique Volvo models that we have towing capacity and payload information for.

Use the links below to see more details in the Volvo model you're interested in - sorted by year of production and then by trim.

How Good are Volvo Vehicles for Towing?

Swedish based Volvo is a company that specializes in luxury cars but at one time was part of a more diverse automotive concern. In March of 2021 the company made a commitment to become a fully electric brand by 2030.

Volvo founders Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson said of its founding in 1927, “Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain, safety.” This was their commitment to creating safe vehicles from the very start.

The company gets its name from the Latin verb Volvere (to roll) meaning essentially Volvo means (I roll) which is actually kind of cool sounding. The first cars off the assembly line in 1927 were the Volvo OV 4 models. This was an open top design but thereafter the company focused on closed top vehicles. This was a climate issue as Sweden’s weather and terrain are not best suited to open top driving.

The first model to crack the lucrative American market was the Volvo PV444 which entered production in 1947. It was the smallest Volvo they had yet produced and hit the U.S. market in 1955. In 1963 the company opened its first North American factory in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Volvo enjoyed increasing success in the U.S. market until the mid 1980s when luxury brands such as Acura, Lexus and Subaru all started to hit the market. This greatly impacted the company as their sales started to dwindle.

The question then is can Volvo vehicles be used to tow anything? Well despite them being a luxury brand they are also diverse in their vehicle offerings. This means that they have several models which, to a degree, are all ideal for towing.

Throughout the 1990s almost all Volvo models were rated at up to 3,300 lbs. of towing capacity. You may require a towing package however to make full use of this capability. As we enter the early 2000s we start to get SUV model Volvos which literally have utility built into their makeup. The 2003 Volvo XC90 for example could tow up to 4,000 lbs. as a two-wheel drive and 5,000 lbs. in four-wheel drive.

The XC90 would go unbeaten until in 2019 Volvo XC60 T5/T6 came along with 5,291 lbs of towing power. This to date stands at the best a Volvo car can manage but most models can offer some form of towing capacity. You may however need a towing package to fully make use of the capabilities and ask your dealer about your specific model's tow rating.