Nobody was expecting the XC90 to not be class leading in terms of safety, based purely on Volvo’s prior safety record and the effort it put into testing its new big SUV.
This has been confirmed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (the IIHS) which has awarded the car its highest Top Safety Pick+ distinction.
The Institute reports the XC90 got “stellar ratings for crash protection and for its standard front crash prevention system.” It also earned the maximum six points for having had its crash culling tech rated as “superior.”
Structurally, it was rated as very sound, with emphasis on the trickiest trial of them all, the small overlap crash. Here, as you can see in the video below, the XC90 simply glides off the barrier and doesn’t bury itself in it.
The IIHS reports that no intrusion larger than two inches was recorded anywhere in the driver’s space.