Volvo XC90 and XC90 Recharge Plug-in Hybrid Named 2023 IIHS TOP SAFTEY PICK+ Award Winners

The Volvo XC90 midsize luxury SUV has earned a 2023 TOP SAFETY PICK+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)

Well, this doesn’t really come as a surprise to anyone. Volvo has always been one of the safest cars on the roads, and the new awards earned are really just a confirmation of their build quality, sturdiness, and approach to safety by the carmaker. This announcement comes after the IIHS strengthened the requirements for its TOP SAFETY PICK (TSP) and TOP SAFETY PICK+ (TSP+) awards, in turn making this an even more valuable award for the Volvo XC90 overall.

The new, tougher, criteria demand better side crash protection, improved pedestrian crash prevention systems, and the elimination of subpar headlights from the field of qualifying vehicles.

As part of Volvo Car’s vision that no one should be seriously injured or killed in a new Volvo car, the company has put safety at the center of everything it does. “The Volvo XC90 continues to prove, year after year, that it is among the safest vehicles on the road today,” said Åsa Haglund, head of Volvo Cars Safety Centre.

The biggest change to the criteria comes with the replacement of the original IIHS side crash test. The updated test involves 82 percent more energy and requires vehicles to earn an acceptable or good rating to qualify for TSP, while a good rating is required for the TSP+.

Both mild hybrid (XC90) and plug-in hybrid (XC90 Recharge) versions of the XC90 earned a TSP+ award. In addition to award-winning safety, the XC90 Recharge offers up to 35 miles of all-electric driving in Pure mode. Volvo Cars has made sustainability as important as safety, and has announced plans to sell only fully electric vehicles by 2030 and to aims to become carbon neutral by 2040.