Volvo XC60 gets near-perfect score in European crash test category

The crossover SUV, which we would consider a midsize in the United States, was named the safest "Large Off-Roader" by the organization. This was because the Volvo had higher ratings in Euro NCAP's four categories of safety (adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, pedestrian protection, and safety assist) than any other vehicle in its model-year and class tested by Euro NCAP.

The most impressive of the XC60's scores was in adult occupant protection. It managed a nearly perfect 98 percent. Interestingly, the next closest scorer in the class and year was the Alfa Romeo Stelvio with 97 percent. The second-highest score for the Volvo was in safety assist with 95 percent, which Volvo notes was a full 20 percent higher than the next best crossover in the class from the Volvo's model year. The child occupant rating was 87 percent, and the pedestrian score was 76 percent.

Back here in the United States, the Volvo XC60 nearly has the highest rating the IIHS can bestow, the Top Safety Pick. It has the highest "Good" rating in every crash scenario it has been tested in, and has top marks for collision prevention technology. It misses out on the highest Top Safety Pick+ rating because its headlights received only the second-highest rating of "Acceptable" (headlight scores dragged down a lot of car models this year as IIHS raised its standards for what constitutes a Top Safety Pick+). Also, IIHS doesn't have a score for the passenger-side small overlap crash test.