The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced that the 2019 Volvo XC40 has received its highest rating – Top Safety Pick+. XC40 models equipped with the optional curve-adaptive headlights received the highest rating.
The IIHS also tested the larger 2019 Volvo XC60, but it only receives the slightly lower Top Safety Pick rating.
To qualify for a 2019 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, plus a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. The vehicle also has to receive an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.
To receive the higher Top Safety Pick+ rating, the vehicle also has to receive a good passenger-side rating and a good headlight rating.
The XC40 earns a good rating for its curve-adaptive LED reflector headlights, which come with the optional Advanced package. Unfortunately the XC40’s base headlights earned a poor rating, due to excessive glare from the low beams.
The XC60’s optional curve-adaptive LED reflector headlights earned an acceptable rating, which is why it missed out on the Top Safety Pick+ rating. The IIHS says that the X60’s base headlights received a marginal rating because they provide inadequate visibility in multiple test scenarios.
