Volvo’s new XC60 will automatically steer around obstacles for you

Volvo has confirmed that its new XC60, which will be revealed in full next week at the Geneva motor show, will have an advanced form of autonomous emergency braking which will actually be able to steer around any obstacles in the road ahead.

The new system, called ‘Steering Support’ cuts in when mere braking alone will not avoid an accident and is active at speeds between 50km/h and 100km/h. “We have been working with collision avoidance systems for many years and we can see how effective they are.

In Sweden alone we have seen a decline of around 45 per cent* in rear-end frontal crashes thanks to our collision warning with autobrake system. With the XC60 we are determined to take the next step in reducing avoidable collisions with the addition of steering support and assistance systems," said Malin Ekholm, senior director, Volvo Cars' Safety Centre.

This active steering system can also kick in to pull you back onto the correct side of the road if you have drifted across your lane and there’s oncoming traffic, and it also connects to the blind spot monitoring system to help prevent you hitting someone as you pull across for a lane change.

“All three of these new features represent clear steps in our work towards fully autonomous cars,” added Ekholm. “We have all of the benefits of the safety technology we introduced in our larger 90 Series cars in the new XC60. This is fully in-line with our strategic approach to develop automotive safety systems based on real-life, real-road safety. Our vision is that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by the year 2020.”

The new XC60 will be a critical model for Volvo, as it seeks to build on the recent global successes of the XC90 and S90. Based on a shortened XC90 platform, the XC60 is likely to become Volvo’s best-selling car, at least until the new V, S, and XC40 models arrive towards the end of this year and early 2018.

The new XC60’s engine lineup will consist, initially, of the same mix of 2.0-litre diesel and petrol four-cylinder turbo engines, with the 150hp D3 diesel model likely being the big-seller at first. Volvo is working on a plugin-hybrid petrol version though, using a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine, developed from the existing four-cylinder units.

In 2016, Volvo had a record year for worldwide sales, with 534,000 cars sold. It has a stated ambition of reaching global sales of 800,000.