The 2018-model year Volvo XC60 SUV, set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show, offers three new advanced safety features designed to provide automatic steering assistance or support when needed, according to Volvo Cars.
“We have been working with collision avoidance systems for many years and we can see how effective they are,” explained Malin Ekholm, senior director of Volvo Cars’ Safety Center. “In Sweden alone we have seen a decline of around 45% in rear-end frontal crashes thanks to our collision warning with autobrake system. With the XC60 we are determined to take the next step in reducing avoidable collisions with the addition of steering support and assistance systems.”
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City Safety has been updated in the XC60 to include steering support, which engages when automatic braking alone would not help avoid a potential collision. In such circumstances, the car will provide steering assistance to avert the obstacle ahead. City Safety helps to avoid collisions with vehicles, pedestrians and large animals. Steering support is active between 31-62 mph (50-100 km/h).
Volvo Cars has also added a system called Oncoming Lane Mitigation, which helps drivers to avoid crashes with vehicles in an oncoming lane.
The system works by alerting a driver who has unwittingly veered out of a driving lane. Oncoming Lane Mitigation provides automatic steering assistance, guiding the driver back into the lane and out of the path of any oncoming vehicle. This system is active between 37-86 mph (60-140 km/h).
“All three of these new features represent clear steps in our work towards fully autonomous cars,” Ekholm said.
Volvo Cars’ optional Blind Spot Information System, which alerts drivers to the presence of vehicles in their blind spot, has also received an update. It now includes steer assist functionality that helps to avoid potential collisions with vehicles in a blind spot.
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“We have all of the benefits of the safety technology we introduced in our larger 90 Series cars in the new XC60,” Ekholm said. “This is fully in line with our strategic approach to develop automotive safety systems based on real-life, real-road safety. Our vision is that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by the year 2020.”
The XC60 will deliver a host of safety systems, including Large Animal Detection, Run-off Road Mitigation, and the semi-autonomous driver support and convenience system Pilot Assist as an option.
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