Safety score stacks up
Volvo’s XC90 has scored another top safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the US. The “good” result corresponds to a low likelihood of significant injury in a situation the test simulates – when the front corner hits a tree or utility pole or another vehicle. The model deflects the impact sideways, more than most other cars. The XC90 SUV comes in 3.2l petrol and a D5 2.4l engine. It remains one of the marque’s best-selling New Zealand models, priced from $84,990. “Our front structure and safety-cage features a blend of different steel qualities,” says Thomas Brober, Volvo’s senior safety adviser. “Similar structural principles and mixes of steel qualities are in all current models.” Volvo is in the middle of a $11 billion turnaround plan it hopes will double world sales to 800,000 by 2020. It’s also hiring a new ad agency and working on a bolder message emphasising the marque’s reputation for safety.
