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Watch the 2015 Volvo XC90 Crash Into a Ditch

With the second-generation, the XC90 got a whole lot more premium and techy than ever before. Being a Swede, the mid-size sport utility vehicle is very safe, which is only natural if you consider that Volvo gave away the patent for the three-point seat belt back at the dawn of the 1960s.
2015 Volvo XC90 crash test 1 photo
Photo: screenshot from Youtube
For trivia’s sake, we’ll highlight that the first ever passenger vehicle to be offered with this contraption is the 1959 Volvo PV599 and its successor, the Amazon. If you or somebody close to you survived a crash, please thank Nils Bohlin, the man that invented the three-point safety belt.

Fast forward approximately 55 years since Bohlin made the device and here we are in 2014, when production cars come with the important seat belt, as well as a plethora of airbag, electronic stability, anti-lock brakes and an assortment of active safety features. This is how much half a century changed cars.

Some people, including me, blame carmakers for too many electronic nannies diluting the driving experience of our cars, but we can’t complain too much about the present because these things save lives. All things considered, safety is more important than the driver’s enjoyment at the wheel, especially in a congested city at rush hour.

Volvo took safety up a notch or two with the new XC90 and to prove engineers did a great job with it, the Scandinavian brand crash tested it in a violent manner. I mean, it’s not everyday you see a manufacturer dig a ditch and thrust an SUV at it at 80 km/h (50 mph). Check the video below to find out how it fared.

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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