First car with pedestrian airbag showcased in the UK

Date: 25/6/2012

The first car to be fitted with a pedestrian airbag as a safety feature is to be showcased at the Moving Motorshow and Goodwood Festival of Speed later this week.

Volvo's V40 is a five-door hatchback and is designed to help prevent serious injury to pedestrians should an impact occur.

As well as being fitted with a pedestrian airbag the model also has City Safety, an avoidance system designed to prevent cars from colliding at low speeds.

The D2 version has carbon emissions as low as 94 g/km, which helps to keep running costs down for the driver, as well as putting it within a lower tax band.

Further to this, Volvo is to present the world's first plug-in diesel hybrid car at the same show in order to complete a European tour.

The V60 D6 AWD has three separate driving modes, which can be changed at the touch of a button: pure, hybrid and power.

It is powered with the combination of a five cylinder 2.4 litre engine and an electric rear axle, capable of producing 70 horsepower.

When driven in pure mode, the car can travel for up to 32 miles depending on the terrain powered by the battery pack alone.

This means that it produces no carbon emissions when charged with electricity produced from sustainable sources.

When the car is started normally it automatically runs on the hybrid mode, which combines the benefits of the diesel engine and electric motor.

This helps the driver to reduce carbon emissions while still being able to apply maximum advantage from the fuel put into the car.

When the car is put into power mode, both of the sources are employed to allow the vehicle to accelerate from zero to 62mph in 6.2 seconds.

The Moving Motorshow and Goodwood Festival of Speed runs from June 28th to July 1st and is in its third year, playing host to a number of car manufacturers showcasing their new models.

Transport Research News and Vehicle Safety News

Posted by Sarah Bailey