Volvo XC90: super, smashing, great
Oddly mesmerising yet disturbing crash test footage finally gets new XC90 its PH airtime
Of course, given the limited observational skills displayed by many of them, you could argue that Volvo drivers don't need to be made to feel even more invulnerable. And the company still hasn't introduced technology to allow any of its products to tow caravans faster than 37mph on west country A-roads. But the new XC90 makes having a reasonably serious impact look like having a go in a bouncy castle - in slow motion, at least.
The three impacts are a frontal offset into a deformable barrier at 40mph, a side impact at 35mph and a staged rollover at 30mph. The XC90s concerned performs admirably - even the side windows stay intact in the rollover.
Sighs of relief all round then, especially given that even in the world of Volvo crash tests things don't always go quite so smoothly...
[Source: Worldcarfans via YouTube]
That looks like a seriously safe tank to take to the roads, I'd certainly think about one of those if I had to go and live in Egypt or India!
The old D5 diesel engine is the weakest point on my car and is really slow to wind up when pulling out at junctions - it is woeful compared to a BMW diesel. The new 4 cyliner unit needs to be a big step up to compete.
The old D5 diesel engine is the weakest point on my car and is really slow to wind up when pulling out at junctions - it is woeful compared to a BMW diesel. The new 4 cyliner unit needs to be a big step up to compete.
The power plant needs to be a big step up from the D5 not only in responsiveness but critically fuel economy which has been my only complaint, the performance on offer in relation to the economy is poor.
Porsche are the masters of this - witness the UK Macan market vs. the Swiss market where there are 20+ new unreg'd cars ready to drive away listed. It wouldn't surprise me if PAG make more € per unit on these Swiss cars than they would if they had built them for the UK/RHD market...
The old D5 diesel engine is the weakest point on my car and is really slow to wind up when pulling out at junctions - it is woeful compared to a BMW diesel. The new 4 cyliner unit needs to be a big step up to compete.
The power plant needs to be a big step up from the D5 not only in responsiveness but critically fuel economy which has been my only complaint, the performance on offer in relation to the economy is poor.
They could be just for analysis but maybe there to signify the pre-impact sensors have detected an impact - they receive a signal once the pressure sensors in the doors reach a peak pressure (the doors fold in quite easily so as well as setting off airbags with deceleration sensors the manufacturers use sealed door cavities and pressure sensors) this allows the airbags time to inflate before the full force of the impact has set in. The slow-mo footage and pyro's make data analysis much easier with more reference points.
I have spent a lot of time a Volvo in Gothenberg over the last few months and spent a fair bit of time in the new cars and they have all been pretty impressive, the designs are elegantly simple and make all the German rivals look fussy, the interiors are superb and they genuinely feel premium (which hasn't been the case for a while).
I am not so sure about a 4 cyl in a car that big (although it is a very good engine and the fuel/performance trade off is superb) but the hybrid version should be interesting.
Volvo are easily the world leaders in crash testing and their facilities are light years ahead of everyone else. Their corporate goal is that by the time they are fully onto SPA GEN2 (about 2020) that no-one will every die in a Volvo again. not a very PH target but ultimately a big usp if they pull it off.
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