Volvo XC90 Owner's Manual page 93

04 Interior
Cargo area
General
04
Payload depends on the car's total kerb
weight, including any accessories that are
mounted. Kerb weight includes the driver,
the weight of the fuel tank when filled to 90%
and various fluids, such as washer fluid and
coolant. Mounted accessories, i.e. towbar,
load carriers, space box, etc., are included in
the kerb weight.
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 head-on collisions. However, you
92
must also remember to protect yourself
against injuries from behind. When loading
cargo, bear in mind that improperly secured
or incorrectly loaded objects in the cargo
area could be 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 head-on 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.
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. During heavy brak-
ing the load may otherwise shift, causing
personal injury.
Turn off the engine and apply the parking
brake when loading or unloading long ob-
jects! 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.