Injury- proof cars by 2020 is Volvo’s ambitious aim
To show progress, automaker sails new XC90 into a ditch at 80 km/ h
It takes weeks to build a car, but mere seconds to render it totally undriveable. Assembly is a complex and exhaustive process that looks so simple on the surface until you factor in the 30,00 or so parts that comprise a modern car.
And a nanosecond distrac-tion can cause what was likely an avoidable crash. With this in mind, Volvo launched a program, ambitious even for a company that built its reputation on safety, that states “No one will be killed or seriously injured in a Volvo car by 2020.”
To show its progress, Volvo crash- tested the new XC90 before a throng of journalists in which “Thor,” the driver, ignores the lane departure warning system and drifts off into the ditch.
At 80 kilometres an hour, the XC90 entered the ditch, which launched it skyward before coming down with an almighty thump several car lengths later. It was a graphic demonstration of the type of crash that kills or maims so many motorists. ( Video of the test can be seen at Driving. ca.)
Remarkably, none of the ( dummy) occupants, including the oneand- a- half- year- old riding in a rear child seat, sustained anything more than minor injuries.
And the XC90, despite the tremendous forces involved, was repairable. All doors and the tailgate opened normally, the roof did not distort, and the windshield was in one piece. In fact, the most significant evidence was the left front wheel had several broken spokes. It proved the chances of surviving a horrendous impact is directly tied into the integrity of the ride.
The unspoken difficulty in a crash like this is the compression the incident inflicts on the occupants and, in particular, the spine. In the XC90 this situation is addressed in two ways. First, the pre- crash system cinches up the seatbelts. pulling the riders into the correct position to straighten the spine as it supports it with the seat.
Second, the seat itself absorbs the impact energy using deformable steel components that crumple when subjected to a high vertical load. This reduces the load on the spine by 30 per cent, enough to significantly reduce the risk of spinal injury — a key reason why the injuries inflicted on the dummies were little more than superficial.
Volvo also released the details of its plug- in hybrid powertrain that will power the top- level XC90 T8. The T8 Twin Engine combines a 2.0- litre supercharged and turbocharged engine with an electric motor and an advanced starter/ generator — it starts the engine after an idle- stop situation and helps to replenish the main battery.
The supercharger looks after the low- end, which banishes lag, while with the turbocharger delivers the punch at the top end. Overlay that with the work from the electric motor and you have a powerful combination. The engine puts out 318 horsepower and 295 pound- feet of torque. The electric motor chips in another 82 hp and 177 lb.- ft. for an all- out 400 hp and 472 lb- ft of torque. This is enough to propel the two- tone- plus XC90 to 100 kilometres an hour in 5.9 seconds while consuming an average of 4.0 litres of gas per 100 kilometres.
The electric motor gets its juice from a 9.2- kilowatt/ hour lithiumion battery that’s mounted within the central tunnel. Recharging using a 220- volt outlet takes 3.5 hours, or eight hours using a 110volt supply. At full charge, the battery delivers more than 40 km of electric- only driving.
Finally, there are five different driving modes. Pure mode sees the XC90 purr along using electrons only. Hybrid, which is the default mode, uses both power sources in the most effective and efficient manner. Power mode amps everything up and adds an extra kick by using the starter/ generator as an additional power source.
The AWD mode delivers fulltime, on- demand all- wheel drive. The engine powers the front wheels while the electric motor drives the rear wheels. The last mode is Save. It allows the driver to conserve the battery’s energy for use at a later time.
The XC90 T6 will roll out late spring 2015, with the top- line T8 plug- in hybrid arriving in the fall.