All-new Volvo XC90: Two World-Firsts, One of the Safest Cars in the World

GOTHENBERG, Sweden, July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

• World's first auto brake when turning in front of an oncoming vehicle 
• World's first solution focusing on accidental road departure 
• Most advanced standard safety package on the market 

   - With Photo

Volvo Cars' all-new XC90 - which will be revealed in August - will offer the most comprehensive and technologically sophisticated standard safety package available in the automotive industry. The new technologies will take the company a significant step closer to its vision that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by 2020.

The standard safety package on the all-wheel drive, seven seat premium SUV will include two world-first safety technologies: a run-off road protection package and an auto brake at intersection capability.

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"Our starting point on safety is the same today as it was 87 years ago: real-life situations," says Dr Peter Mertens, Senior Vice President Research and Development of Volvo Car Group. "We study data. We crunch numbers. We innovate. The result is one of the safest cars ever made."

World first number 1: Run-off road protection 

Run-off road is a common accident type with different causes, such as driver distraction, fatigue or poor weather conditions. For example, half of all traffic fatalities in the United States are road departure accidents, while in Sweden, single-vehicle accidents involve one third of all fatal- and severe injury crashes with passenger cars.

In a run-off road scenario, the all-new Volvo XC90 detects what is happening and the front safety belts are tightened to keep the occupants in position. The belts are firmly tightened as long as the car is in motion.

To help prevent spine injuries, energy-absorbing functionality between the seat and seat frame cushions the vertical forces that can arise when the car encounters a hard landing in the terrain. The solution is capable of reducing the vertical occupant forces by up to one third.

World first number 2: Auto brake at intersections 

The XC90 is the first car in the world with technology that features automatic braking if the driver turns in front of an oncoming car. This is a common scenario at busy city crossings as well as on highways, where the speed limits are higher. The all-new Volvo XC90 detects a potential crash and brakes automatically in order to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences of a crash.

All auto brake functions standard 

City Safety will become the umbrella name for all of Volvo Cars' auto brake functions - which are standard equipment in the all-new XC90.

"City Safety is one of the most advanced standard crash prevention offers you can find in a modern car. It now covers vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians in front of the car, day and night," explains Lotta Jakobsson, Senior Technical Specialist Safety at Volvo Cars Safety Centre. "We are now able to cover the whole span from dusk to dawn by using a highly sensitive camera combined with advanced exposure control."

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Video: 
     http://www.multivu.com/mnr/71400582-all-new-volvo-XC90-safest-car

SOURCE Volvo Car Corporation