Volvo’s new XC60 — boasting the very latest, advanced safety aids — goes on sale this summer. But few realise its still-on-sale predecessor — the quietly revolutionary XC60 — was hailed as the firm’s “safest-ever car” when launched nine years ago.
In the run-up to the release of the new model, I’ve been reviewing its forerunner’s safety systems, one of the most useful of which is Queue Assist, built into its Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) function.
ACC works by building on the cruise control function. As well as allowing you to set a chosen speed — perhaps on the motorway — it automatically keeps you a safe distance from the car ahead.
The Queue Assist function, on the outgoing £40,140 XC60, D5 AWD Auto R-Design Lux Nav, is just as remarkable but less well-known. It automatically brakes the car if the driver fails to react to an obstacle —perhaps a pedestrian or cyclist. It allows the driver to inch along at walking pace while also a safe distance from the car in front, right down to a standstill, without touching accelerator or brake.
Intriguingly, it gives a taste of driverless cars to come — and additional safety tech on the new XC60 takes us even closer to truly autonomous motoring.
The Swedish firm recently announced it would be one of the first to feature Steer Assist. Also building on City Safety, it will be capable of helping drivers steer around obstacles in the road, at low speed, in emergencies, if the driver fails to act in time: a potential life-saver. Meanwhile, ‘Oncoming Lane Mitigation’ harnesses Steer Assist to help mitigate head-on collisions, while Volvo’s Blind Spot Information System will use Steer Assist to reduce the risk of lane-changing collisions.
All potential life-savers — ‘driverless’ doubters, take note.
