2012 Volvo S60 T6 AWD – Review

Volvo and safety have been synonymous since the company’s launch in 1927.  The company’s founding directors, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustav Larson are said to have proclaimed that safety will be “the guiding principle behind everything we make at Volvo” that year.

Volvo firsts include the first production three-point safety belt (invented by Volvo engineer Nils Bohlin, which became standard on all Volvo cars in 1959) and the first rear-facing child seat, invented in 1964.

Volvo was the first to introduce side airbags, making them standard in 1996 models, and the first head-protecting airbag in 1998.

These features are now commonplace in almost every vehicle offered for sale today but Volvo has kept innovating.

For example, as the B- and C-pillars of cars increased in thickness to increase vehicle crashworthiness, visibility has declined, creating more of a blindspot.  In 2004, Volvo introduced the BLIS (Blind Spot Information System), which warns the driver of a vehicle in the car’s blind spot by flashing a light on the corresponding side-view mirror.

Volvo also offers a heartbeat detector, which will alert the driver to the presence of a (presumably unwanted) person in the car. A recent radio commercial made me think that this feature can also serve another important purpose, namely to remind parents not to accidentally leave an infant or small child behind in the car, something especially critical to think of in warm weather.

Click here to continue to Page 2 – Driving the Volvo S60 and Volvo’s Evolution

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