Packing all-wheel drive, a dynamic suspension with driver-selectable Sport mode and a turbocharged T6 engine making 300 hp and 325 lb.-ft. of torque, the all-new S60 truly takes the Volvo driving experience to a whole new level. But don’t think that means the “naughty” Volvo sacrifices safety for performance. In fact, just the opposite. That’s why the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently recognized the S60 as a Top Safety Pick for featuring standard electronic stability control and scoring the highest possible rating of “good” in each of the organization’s tests for front, rear, side and rollover crash protections.
Passing the rollover test was especially significant, as the IIHS noted that “the roof of the S60 withstood a force equal to 4.95 times the car’s weight. By comparison, the current federal standard is 1.5 times weight. Institute research demonstrates that occupants of vehicles with strong roofs are much less likely to sustain serious injuries in rollover crashes.”
The S60 also boasts Volvo’s industry-first City Safety system, designed to prevent or mitigate the kind of low-speed collisions that often occur in urban driving scenarios. In situations in which the system’s sensors determine a collision is likely to occur, City Safety can either pre-charge the S60’s brakes for optimum stopping power or even automatically engage the brakes in certain cases. City Safety is just one of the S60’s many standard safety features, and Volvo also offers a wide range of technologically advanced optional safety measures as well.
These include another first-in-the-industry breakthrough: Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake. This system leverages radar- and camera-based sensors that can detect people who may walk out in front of the S60’s path, and can automatically engage full braking power to help prevent striking a pedestrian. Pedestrian Detection has proven to work at speeds of up to 22 mph; if the S60 is moving faster, the system can still engage to reduce speed as much as possible before an impact.
The S60 joins Volvo stablemates the S80, C30, XC60 and XC90 as IIHS Top Safety Picks on sale now at local dealerships across the country.
You must log in to post a comment.