All-New S40 Sees Stars as it Aces NHTSA Side Impact Test

By: Brad Nevin | Ford Communications Network

The all-new Volvo S40 scored 5 stars for the passenger and 5 stars for the driver in the NHTSA side impact test. For more information on the all-new S40, visit allnews40.com.

IRVINE, Calif., August 9, 2004 -- The crunch of steel and shattering glass can be one of the most horrific memories of an automobile accident. Unless, of course, the accident isn't really an accident; instead, it was a highly structured test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That was exactly the case recently when NHTSA completed its side impact protection test of the all-new Volvo S40 sport sedan.

The results: 5 stars for the driver; 5 stars for the passenger, the highest rating the U.S. Government organization grants to passenger vehicles.

"With these latest crash test results, and the fact that sales of the all-new S40 are up 29.2 percent from last year, we are proving that safety and style can go hand-in-hand," said Vic Doolan, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, LLC. "The new S40 is doing exactly as we intended. It's bringing new, younger buyers, into our dealerships, but it's doing so in the Volvo way, with passenger safety as our number-one concern."

Noting the new Volvo S40's robust structure, Doolan continued, "Side impact crashes can be devastating, but the new S40 was designed from the outset to help protect its passengers in the event of just such a collision."

The S40's high level of safety is part of Volvo's Intelligent Vehicle Architecture (VIVA), a unique approach to building a car that integrates everything from its crashworthiness, to its dynamic styling and exciting driving characteristics. The safety systems were developed and tested in the Volvo Cars Safety Center, the most advanced facility of its kind in the world. About forty full-scale tests were performed to help ensure that all the on-board components interact correctly in the event of a collision. When it comes to side impact protection, the all-new Volvo S40 is 1.9 inches wider than its predecessor. This creates added space for deformation in a collision. In other respects, the Volvo S40 has the same type of side impact protection as found on the Volvo S60 and Volvo S80, both of which also received double 5-star side impact protection ratings from NHTSA.

SIPS (Side Impact Protection System), a standard safety system on all Volvo cars, includes side-impact airbags and inflatable curtains. The side airbags are larger than in the previous S40 model to provide more effective protection at the hips and chest.

Several other features contribute to the stiffer body and help prevent the side from deforming in a collision: reinforced, transversely installed tubular beam between the A-pillars; diagonally installed beams of Ultra High Strength Steel in the doors; and B-pillars which have been significantly reinforced and are dimensioned to help provide enhanced protection.

The NHTSA results are just the most recent safety accolades the new Volvo S40 has received. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety rated the new Volvo S40 a "Good, Best Pick" in its 40-mph offset frontal collision test. And the Euro-NCAP, the organizing body of collision protection testing in Europe, also rated the S40 with 5 stars, its highest rating.