Volvo’s new premium midsized SUV, the XC60 is now available in the Philippines. Featuring three new advanced driver assistance features, it keeps the car and its occupants out of trouble when they least expect it.

The new safety features, all standard features on the XC60, are designed to provide the driver with automatic steering assistance or support—when required – to help avoid potential collisions. Volvo believes that these new features will make the new XC60 one of the safest cars on the road.

“We have been working with collision avoidance systems for many years and we can see how effective they are. In Sweden alone, we have seen a decline of around 45 percent in rear-end frontal crashes thanks to our collision warning with autobrake system. With the XC60, we are determined to take the next step in reducing avoidable collisions with the addition of steering support and assistance systems,” said Malin Ekholm, Senior Director, Volvo Cars’ Safety Center.

City Safety has been updated in the XC60 to include steering support, which engages when automatic braking alone would not help avoid a potential collision. In such circumstances, the car will provide steering assistance to avoid the obstacle ahead. City Safety helps to avoid collisions with vehicles, pedestrians, and large animals. Steering support is active between 50-100 km/h.

Volvo Cars has also added a system called Oncoming Lane Mitigation, which helps drivers to avoid collisions with vehicles in an oncoming lane.

The system works by alerting a driver who has unwittingly wandered out of a driving lane by providing automatic steering assistance, guiding them back into their own lane and out of the path of any oncoming vehicle. This system is active between 60-140 km/h.

“All three of these new features represent clear steps in our work towards fully autonomous cars,” added Malin Ekholm.

Volvo Cars’ optional Blind Spot Information System, which alerts drivers to the presence of vehicles in their blind spot, has also received an update to include steer assist functionality that helps to avoid potential collisions with vehicles in a blind spot by steering the car back into its own lane and away from danger.

“We have all of the benefits of the safety technology we introduced in our larger 90 Series cars in the new XC60. This is fully in-line with our strategic approach to develop automotive safety systems based on real-life, real-road safety. Our vision is that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car by the year 2020,” added Malin Ekholm.

Aside from these standard safety features, the XC60 is also available with a host of other high-end safety systems. Just like its larger 90 Series siblings (the XC90 and S90), it can be optioned with Large Animal Detection, Run-off Road Mitigation, and the semi-autonomous driver support and convenience system Pilot Assist as an option.

The 2018 Volvo XC60 is now available in the Philippines and comes fitted with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. Apart from authorized dealerships, the XC60 is on display at the ArteFino event at 8 Rockwell from today until September 2, 2018.