The upcoming Volvo EX30 is set to be the brand’s smallest SUV ever, but despite its compact size, the Swedish carmaker says it will still come packed with safety features. “We’re a leader in safety, always have been and always will be, and we will not lower our own bar for safety in the EX30 – it looks after both you and others in hectic urban environments,” the company said in its official release.
Ahead of the EX30’s world debut on June 7, Volvo has provided some early details of some of the safety features that the SUV will be offered with. This comes a few days after the SUV was initially teased, revealing a design that is clearly inspired by the larger EX90.
As a start, the EX30 will be equipped with a door opening alert, which can warn you through visual and audio cues whenever you are about to open the door in front of a passing cyclist or another traffic user.
This feature aims to prevent cycling crashes from happening on busy city roads when a car door opens inadvertently into the path of a cyclist. Volvo says these so-called dooring accidents make up as much as a fifth of all reported bike accidents in some cities, and according to Cycling UK, 60 people on average are killed or seriously injured by car doors each year in the United Kingdom alone.
The door opening alert is just one of several features that are part of Volvo’s Safe Space Technology suite on the EX30. “We have long had a focus on safety in city environments where cars share space with pedestrians and cyclists,” said Asa Haglund, the head of Volvo’s Safety Centre. “With the Volvo EX30, we are taking city safety to the next level, creating a small SUV that is your perfect companion for a comfortable driving experience, while it looks after you and other people on the busy streets of modern cities,” she added.
Meanwhile, to ensure passengers inside the car are protected in the event of a crash, the structural design of the EX30 features a strengthened safety cage, pillars and roof. There’s even a far-side airbag on the inside of the driver’s seat designed to reduce head and thorax injuries during a side impact. As it is an electric vehicle (EV), battery integrity is equally as important, with various forms of high-strength steel used to offset the impact from a possible crash in an efficient way.
Inside, the EX30 comes standard with an advanced driver alert system that uses a sensor located behind the steering wheel to detect eye and face movements around 13 times per second. This is to help the car try to understand if you’re distracted, drowsy or otherwise inattentive, with hands-on detection also present.
Another active system highlighted is a new intersection auto brake feature that helps avoid accidents should another car cross your path in front unexpectedly. These technologies are just a small part of a comprehensive suite of safety and driver support systems that the EX30 will get, and Volvo will reveal them during the SUV’s debut next month.
GALLERY: Volvo EX30 teaser
GALLERY: Volvo EX30 patent images
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Nice !! Suitable for Malaysia’s small parking lot.
Hope the price is reasonable in comparison to Mazda day dreamers
I really need a smaller car nowadays.