All New Volvo XC90 One Of The Worlds Safest Cars
The all new Volvo XC90 to be revealed in August and is already creating a stir amongst the automotive industry. The cause? Well it is what Volvo are known for and that is “safety”.
The all new Volvo XC90 will include what is being marketed as the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package currently available. with Volvo aiming to achieve its vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020.
In a step towards its vision, the all new Volvo XC90 will include the following world first safety features:
World first #1: Run-off road protection
In Australia, running off the road is a common collision type and is caused by a variety of reasons including driver distraction, fatigue, road design, road condition or weather conditions.
As part of its run-off road protection the all new Volvo XC90 will have a safe positioning capability meaning that the Volvo XC90 will detect what is occurring and tighten the front safety belts in order to keep occupants in position and the belts will continue to remain firmly tightened while the car is in motion.
In order to help prevent spine injuries, the Volvo XC90 includes energy absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame which cushions the vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing.
As a result of this innovation the vertical occupant forces are reduced by 1/3.
The Volvo XC90 also has the
- Lane Keeping Aid which applies extra steering torque if the car is about to leave the lane unintentionally,
- Driver Alert Control which detects and warns tired or inattentive drivers and
- Rest Stop Guidance which directs the driver to the nearest rest area.
World first #2: Autobrake at intersections
The Volvo XC90 is the first car in the world with technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. As a result the Volvo XC90 is able to detect a potential crash and brakes automatically in order to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences of a crash.
Other Safety Innovations
In addition to these 2 world firsts the Volvo XC90 will also include the following safety innovations:
Pre-Crash Protection In Rear Impacts
With rearward facing radars the Volvo XC90 is able to detect whether a rear impact is imminent and if it is the safety belts will tighten in order to keep the occupants in position. In addition the rear lights also start flashing in an attempt to warn the driver behind while the brakes are activated to gel reduce the impact on the occupants.
The Volvo XC90 also includes a new seat design which integrates a Whiplash Protection System which together with the above should also assist in reducing whiplash from rear impacts.
Rollover Prevention and Protection
Standard in the Volvo XC90 will be the latest generation Roll Stability Control which uses sensors to calculate the risk of rolling over. If the risk is high then engine torque is restricted and some braking force applied to one or more wheels in order to counteract the rollover tendency.
However, if a rollover is inevitable, the Volvo XC90 activates the inflatable curtains which cover all three seat rows for an extended period of time to minimise and/or prevent head injuries.
All seven seats in the XC90 have pyrotechnical safety belt pre-tensioners that also activate in rollover situations.
City Safety autobraking functions
Standard in the Volvo XC90 is City Safety which is the umbrella name for all of the Volvo’s auto brake functions. The purpose of the new collision avoidance system is to assist the driver in case there is a high risk of collision with another vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist through an intuitive warning strategy and a brake support system. If a collision is almost unavoidable, the system will provide autonomous braking when the driver fails to respond to the imminent threat.
Extended Road Sign Information
The Volvo XC90 is the first car on the market with Road Sign Information technology as standard. It has been further enhanced to show an extended selection of road signs in the digital display in front of the driver, such as various types of supplementary signs.
Blind Spot
The Blind Spot Information System in the Volvo XC90 will provide the driver with information about vehicles in the blind spots as well as alerting the driver of vehicles approaching at speed from behind.
Queue Assist
Queue Assist automatically controls acceleration, braking and steering in the Volvo XC90.
Smarter, Safer and also Stronger
In order to complement the significant package of standard safety features the new Volvo XC90 has also been made stronger through the use if hot formed boron steel which is recognised as the strongest type of steel presently used in the car body industry. With a complete safety cage made from hot formed iron steel maximum occupant protection in all types of crash scenarios is achieved.
The all new Volvo XC90 will be revealed in August 2014 and we at CarHq can not wait to put this vehicle to the test.
Category: News
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