| As we roll inexorably toward the parked "car" in | | | | display monitor. All these items are in addition to |
| front of us at just over 20 km/h, every instinct I | | | | other active safety features that include a |
| have screams out: "Hit the brakes!!" Habits deeply | | | | traction control system, hill descent control, a |
| ingrained in a 40-year driving career are hard to | | | | vehicle stability system, brake fade support, and |
| break. But I’ve been told to keep my foot | | | | the usual roster of airbags and ABS. Sweden is |
| off the brake pedal, no matter what, and let the | | | | obviously full of deranged drivers crashing into |
| car handle everything. So onward we glide, with a | | | | each other at every turn because Volvo has |
| low-speed impact seemingly a foregone conclusion. | | | | gone above and beyond in the pursuit of accident |
| Hope the airbags work. | | | | prevention, and is pretty much synonomous with |
| But at the last possible moment, less than a | | | | safety these days. The XC60 must surely be the |
| metre away from an imminent fender-bender, | | | | most driver-insulating SUV on the market. |
| the brakes are applied automatically - and kind of | | | | The XC60 is powered by a 281-horsepower |
| abruptly - and the car stops itself in its tracks. No | | | | turbocharged in-line six cylinder engine and comes |
| accident, no drama. | | | | with one transmission: a six-speed automatic |
| This is Volvo’s newest fail-safe feature - City | | | | mated to a fourth-generation Haldex full-time |
| Safety - in action, and the idea is to prevent or | | | | all-wheel-drive system. Parts of this drivetrain and |
| mitigate accidents occurring at speeds of 30 km | | | | various other components are used elsewhere in |
| h or less. In a nutshell, a laser sensor located in | | | | Volvo’s line-up, including the S80 and V70, and |
| the rearview mirror monitors the distance | | | | it has 231 mm of ground clearance for those who |
| between you and the vehicle in front, and if you | | | | may feel compelled to take this $50,000 ute into |
| get too close, it will apply the brakes automatically. | | | | the boondocks. |
| It can be disabled, but is otherwise in operating | | | | Volvo is also hoping current owners of the |
| mode all the time. According to Volvo, 75 per | | | | diminutive C30 coupe will move upward into the |
| cent of all collisions take place at or under this | | | | XC60 and its competition includes the likes of the |
| speed, and half of the time, the brakes aren’t | | | | Mercedes GLK, Lexus RX350, and, especially, |
| applied at all, for various reasons....including driver | | | | BMW’s X3. It is, in all respects, an upscale |
| distraction. However, it is important to understand | | | | vehicle. Standard equipment includes leather |
| that City Safety does not relieve the driver of | | | | interior, dual-zone climate control, heated outside |
| the responsibility of maintaining a safe distance to | | | | mirrors, power seats, hands-free bluetooth |
| avoid a collision, cautions Volvo’s manager of | | | | interface, Sirius satellite radio, and a fold-flat rear |
| preventative safety, Jonas Ekmark. "The | | | | floor area with 40/20/40 split rear seats. "Ideal |
| automatic braking function does not react until it | | | | for carrying Ikea boxes," quips project director, |
| considers that a collision is imminent." | | | | Lars Blenwall. |
| Standard equipment in the new 2010 XC60, City | | | | Effortless to drive too. On a 350-kilometre run up |
| Safety also works in concert with other | | | | the Pacific Coat Highway and through California |
| protective features, including the airbags and seat | | | | wine country, the XC60 handled the endless |
| belts, to further reduce the possibility of injury. It | | | | switchbacks and tight corners with aplomb and |
| works equally well during the day or night | | | | ease. You can actually adjust the power steering |
| (although the windscreen must be kept clear), and | | | | boost while you’re driving, and it’s |
| functions independently of Volvo’s Adaptive | | | | sometimes easy to forget that you’re piloting |
| Cruise Control system, which is a sonar-based | | | | a sport utility vehicle and not a sports sedan. |
| technology designed to keep a safe distance | | | | Turbo boost, which can be an issue, is completely |
| between you and the car in front during highway | | | | under control and virtually unobtrusive. |
| driving. | | | | Designed at Volvo’s California studios and built |
| Needless to say, City Safety is just one of a | | | | in Ghent, Belgium, the XC60 features what |
| myriad of protective features found in the XC60. | | | | exterior design chief, Doug Frasher, describes as a |
| Other reassurances include lane departure | | | | "holistic" body style. "When we got to work on |
| warning, rear park assist camera, collision warning, | | | | the XC60, we were mindful of the Swedish love |
| a blind spot information system, and my personal | | | | for the outdoors and wildlife. One of the big |
| favourite, driver alert control. This last feature | | | | questions we asked ourselves was: ‘what |
| notifies the driver if he/she is straying from their | | | | kind of animal should it be?’" That question |
| lane or not paying attention on the highway, and | | | | remains unanswered, but at least it wasn’t |
| sounds an audible warning as well as displaying a | | | | tagged as a bionic cheetah, as was the case with |
| cute little coffee cup graphic on the information | | | | the Infiniti FX35. |