2015 Volvo XC90 safety features revealed

Volvo has released details about the safety and parking features that will be fitted in its forthcoming SUV – the 2015 Volvo XC90. The Swedish carmaker claims that its seven-seat SUV will feature innovative technologies in terms of parking and manouvering in tight spaces.

The new IntelliSafe support technologies include an extended Park Assist Pilot, which now also offers automatic reversing into a parking bay as well as entering and exiting a parallel parking spot. While doing the same, the driver in the XC90 gets a digitally created bird’s eye view.

Commenting on this new technology, Peter Mertens, Senior Vice-President, Research and Development, Volvo Car Group, said, “Several studies by research institutes reveal that up to two-thirds of interviewed motorists feel uncomfortable in tight parking situations. Options such as the extended Park Assist Pilot and bird’s-eye view function turn these potentially stressful situations into comfortable, precise and safe manoeuvring.”

The Park Assist Pilot makes it easy for both parallel and bay parking by automatically operating the steering wheel while the driver operates the gearbox and controls the car’s speed.

When the driver activates the Park Assist Pilot in a parallel parking situation, the sensors start to scan the side of the car for empty parking slots. When a parking slot measuring a minimum of 1.2 times the car's length is detected, the driver is notified by an audible signal and a message in the instrument cluster.

In a bay parking situation, the slot needs to be the width of the car plus one metre. The display then guides the driver step by step via texts and animations in the instrument cluster until the car is parked.

The 360-degree Surround View is enabled by four concealed fish-eye cameras - one integrated in the front, one integrated in each of the door mirrors and one fitted above the rear number plate. Surround View also gives the driver comfortable access to other views of the surrounding area such as front, rear and side views.

The IntelliSafe in the upcoming XC90 also includes an innovative feature called Cross Traffic Alert which covers the driver’s back when reversing out of a parking space and warns of approaching traffic up to 30 metres on each side, alerting the driver with an audible signal and a warning on the centre screen.

The all-new Volvo XC90 will be unveiled next month.