ARLINGTON, VA – The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awarded the 2012 Volvo S60 the institute’s Top Safety Pick award for good performance for front, side, rollover, and rear crash protection, plus standard electronic stability control (ESC).

The IIHS stated the previous generation of the S60 earned “good” ratings in the Institute's front and rear evaluations, but for 2005-‘09 it was rated acceptable in the side impact test. The previous model wasn't evaluated for roof strength in rollover crashes. The new model improves to “good” in the side impact test, and earns a “good” rating in the roof strength test. The roof of the S60 withstood a force equal to 4.95 times the car's weight, according to IIHS. 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.

In addition to good crash test ratings, winners must have ESC, an important crash-avoidance feature, which is standard on the S60.