The Volvo XC60 is one of the safest cars made, according to a panel of expert judges who have declared it winner of the What Car? Safety Award.
The five-door SUV impressed with the unrivalled protection it offers to occupants in the event of an accident. Crucially, however, the Volvo XC60 is also fitted with a host of pioneering advanced driver assistance systems designed to avoid crashes occurring at all.
Key Volvo XC60 safety technologies include: AEB systems, which operate at a variety of speeds and driving environments, and can detect pedestrians, cyclists and even large animals; a suite of lane support systems to alert the driver when the car is drifting and actively steer to avoid head-on collisions; blind spot indication systems; rear cross traffic alerts; and a run-off road system. As a result, Euro NCAP awarded the Volvo XC60 a score of 95 per cent for its safety assistance features.
Safety Award judge and director of research at Thatcham Research, Matthew Avery, said the Volvo XC60 achieved a very high adult occupant protection score of 98 per cent in Euro NCAP’s toughest crash tests ever.
" But it is also bursting at the seams with safety technology to avoid the crash happening at all," he said. "It is so far ahead of the game that its innovative cross traffic alert and turn across path systems are not yet a part of the Euro NCAP programme.
“This car has always broken new ground. In 2008 the original Volvo XC60 was the first to be launched with standard-fit AEB. Back then, it was a relatively basic system which functioned at low speeds, car-to-car. The AEB systems on the new XC60 can handle a full range of different driving speeds and environments and will also detect vulnerable trod users and even large animals.”
The Volvo XC60 was not the only vehicle to receive praise for the levels of safety offered to drivers. Two other new vehicles were highly commended by the panel of expert judges – the Volkswagen T-Roc and the Subaru XV.
