In a well-remembered advertising campaign, Volvos were marketed as the sensible Swede.” Maybe the company should resurrect that slogan, because what’s more sensible than trying to build the world’s safest automobiles?

Keeping occupants from harm has become a religion at Volvo’s Gothenburg works, so that’s where the company directs its energies. And a lot of Volvo R&D is designed to make a vehicle that’s smarter than its driver — in some situations.

For instance, Volvo studies have found that in 50% of all collisions below 30 km/h, the driver takes no action to avoid impact. Enter the 2010 XC60 crossover, the first to get Volvo’s new City Safety low-speed-collision avoidance/mitigation system as standard equipment.

At speeds under 30 km/h, City Safety uses a laser sensor to calculate the closing rate between the XC60 and the vehicle in front. If a collision is imminent and the driver takes no action, 50% of braking power automatically is applied. Volvo saysthe

system can eliminate collisions entirely at speeds under15

km/h and lessen the severity up to 30 km/h.

City Safety sees” only large reflective surfaces and does not react to pedestrians or bicycles. Wisely, Volvo engineers have located the sensor behind the windscreen, where grunge can be cleaned away by the wipers, making the system operable in all kinds of weather.

It’s a bit of a leap of faith to put your fate in the hands of some lasers and computers. But as I find in repeated demos with an XC60 AWD, the system slows you to the point where you can safely bring the vehicle to a full stop.

Our test car also has the blind spot information system (BLIS), which is part of the AWD package. With this, an orange light glows on either outside mirror if a vehicle is approaching from the rear, and might go unnoticed. This, too, really works.

All XC60s come standard with four-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS) with electronic brake distribution (EBD) and emergency brake assist (EBA) plus six airbags, Volvo’s side impact protection system (SIPS) and whiplash protection system (WHIPS).

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ABS, Airbag, Anti-lock braking system, Auto, Automobile, Brake Assist, Electronic brakeforce distribution, Gothenburg, Makes and Models, Recreation, Side Impact Protection System, Volvo, Volvo Cars, Volvo XC60