XC90 Test Roll
This just in: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/5/prweb8419083.htm . It ranks our XC90 as the least expensive car to insure. I’d have to say when this car was designed, more than 11 years ago, the intention was and continues to be about accident avoidance and occupant protection.
With the worlds first Roll-Over Protection System (ROPS), we developed a whole new way to help avoid a roll-over accident. With ROPS gyro based technology, it could sense when an XC90 was getting close to rolling over. ROPS applied the brakes to one or more wheels to modulate rolling action. Sure, there are times when rolling is unavoidable, like hitting a curb sideways, or driving into a ditch, but that’s where XC90′s Ultra-High Strength Steel (UHSS) reinforcements in the hood help protect occupants, along with inflatable side curtains.
When we launched XC90, one journalist took to heart our ROPS system. Without our knowledge, he hired a couple of professional drivers, rented an unused parking area and tried to roll over his loaner car. He wrote:
Author(s): Royal Ford Date: October 12, 2002 Page: D1 Section: Automotive
“We put the XC90 through a tight slalom course that in the past, even moving as “slowly” as 40 miles per hour, has lifted a rear wheel or put other SUVs over on two wheels in tilts that only trained drivers could fix. The everyday motorist would have rolled in these situations. The XC90 would not even go up onto two wheels, and the everyday motorist could have been doing what we were doing.”
“We put the XC90 through an emergency lane change (picture traveling at 60-plus miles per hour and suddenly spotting a dead tanker truck 55 feet ahead of you). Slam the ABS brakes, steer around the obstacle, and move back in front of it after passing it. Not easy for an SUV to handle. The XC90 did it with ease.”
“Flat out, this is a car that will save lives.”
The proof is in the pudding.
dan
