The Volvo S60 has earned the top rating in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) new small overlap frontal crash test, making it the highest-rated European luxury vehicle among those tested.

The influential Insurance Institute for Highway Safety devised the new test to replicate what happens when the front corner of a car collides with another vehicle, or an object like a tree of utility pole.

In the new test, 25 percent of a car's front end on the driver's side strikes a five-foot tall rigid barrier at 40mph (64km/h).

Structurally, the Volvo S60 was best. With only a few inches of intrusion, the occupant compartment looked much the same as it would with the moderate overlap crash test, thanks to the reinforcement of the S60's upper rails, and a steel cross member below the instrument panel to keep the safety cage intact.

Volvo has performed similar small overlaps tests as part of its real-world crash testing development process since the late 1980s, taking the results into account when designing new models.

"We're delighted that a crash testing procedure we've been using and refining for over 20 years is now a key component in the crash testing process at the IIHS," says Volvo Car Australia Managing Director, Matt Braid.

"Volvo is the global leader in automotive safety. With world-firsts like the Pedestrian Airbag, low-speed collision avoidance technology like City Safety, and new research projects on autonomous braking and driving, Volvo continues to innovate and raise the bar."

For further information, please click here to download the IIHS pdf .

For further information please contact:

Oliver Peagam
Public Affairs Manager
Volvo Car Australia
T: 02 9020 1613
M: 0408 691 017
E: opeagam@volvocars.com