The 2016 Volvo XC90 Crossover SUV from the looks of things is a tech lover's dream car. It won't automatically drive you to your destination, but guess what? It comes with its own smartphone app.
In the past, cars were like dumb phones that did nothing interesting outside of their core functionality. For vehicles, that's being able to be driven by a human to one destination to the next. Once the key has been removed from the ignition, the regular car does nothing much but absorb the sun while it's parked.
Things are changing now as cars are slowly becoming one with technology, and the Volvo XC90 Crossover SUV is a true testament of that. This beauty of a car is capable of telling when there's an obstacle ahead such as another vehicle or even a pedestrian. When this happens, the XC90 can slow down to help the driver from causing a huge mess of things.
That's pretty smart right there.
Moreover, this car can even park itself should the need arise. Now, we're not entirely sure how that works, but it sounds impressive on paper, and we'd love to see it in action.
At the same time, Volvo has added some cool things to this car to make it one of the most connected vehicles ever conceived. First of all, it has its own virtual assistant in the form of Sensus. There's also a touchscreen user interface that drivers can use to control most of the car's features, including automation and climate control.
"Sensus offers you the simplest, most intuitive interface ever. It incorporates navigation so you can access relevant information, support and entertainment wherever you may be," notes Volvo.
From this same interface, drivers can also adjust the seats and the headrest.
Volvo has also implemented another piece of tech that is called City Safety. With this enabled, the car can stop drivers from turning left or right when in congested traffic.
Another feature we like is what the maker calls Volvo On Call. This is where owners of the XC90 can interact with the car via the Volvo app that is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices. It is clear that cars are no longer a dead weight we carry around, and can now be smart enough to actually help drivers in several ways.
What Volvo is doing here is part of its 2020 vision. By that time, Volvo aims to make sure no passengers in a Volvo vehicle die from a collision or experience severe injuries. That's just little over four years away, so the company has a lot of work to do.
