Volvo XC90 Owner's Manual page 107

04 Interior
Cargo area
The load capacity of the car is reduced by the
number of passengers and their weight.
Loading the cargo area
The seatbelts and airbags provide the driver
and passengers substantial protection, espe-
cially in frontal collisions. However, you must
also remember to protect yourself against inju-
ries from behind. When loading cargo, bear in
mind that improperly secured or incorrectly
loaded objects in the cargo area could be
04
thrown forward with great speed and force in
the event of a collision or sudden braking,
causing serious injuries.
Bear in mind that if an object weighing 20 kg is
subjected to a frontal collision at a speed of
50 km/h, its impact weight will be 1000 kg.
Think about the following when loading:
•
Do not load extremely heavy objects up by
the front seats. The lowered backrest will
be pressed down unnecessarily hard.
•
Place the load by the backrest.
•
Position heavy loads as low as possible.
•
Position wide loads on each side of the
division in the backrest.
•
Cover sharp edges with something soft.
•
Secure the load with retaining straps using
the car's lashing eyes.
•
Never load above the backrest without a
load net.
106
WARNING
The driving characteristics of the car change
based on the car's kerb weight and how
heavily it is loaded.
WARNING
Never load cargo above the backrests! If
you do so, the load could be thrown forward
in the event of sudden braking or a collision
and severely injure you or your passengers.
Remember to always secure (bind) the load
properly.
If the rear seat backrest is lowered, do not
load the car higher than 50 mm under the
top edge of the rear passenger windows.
Leave 10 cm of free space from the win-
dows inwards. Otherwise, the intended pro-
tection of the inflatable curtain, which is
hidden in the headlining, may be compro-
mised.
Always secure the load. Always secure the
load. During heavy braking the load may
otherwise shift, causing personal injury to
the car's occupants.
Turn off the engine and apply the parking
brake when loading or unloading long
objects! Otherwise you may accidentally
knock the gear lever or gear selector with
the load and cause a gear to engage and the
car to move off.
Safety net
The safety net prevents luggage and cargo
from being thrown forward in the passenger
compartment during heavy braking.
The net is made of a strong nylon fabric and
can be secured two different ways:
•
Behind the rear seat backrest
•
Behind the front seats if the rear seat is
lowered.