We’re always looking for cool new safety innovations for children and since Volvo is synonymous with safety (thanks, advertising!) we’re not entirely surprised that they’re the first to reinvent family car travel with this Volvo child seat concept.
Whoa, right?
The premise is that the baby can remain in a rear-facing seat in the new Volvo XC90, only…in front. Then whomever is in the passenger seat has the ability to slide back. That way, the kiddo is in eyeshot of both the driver and another passenger, instead of one of us (ahem) climbing awkwardly into the rear over the seat back in the middle of traffic in the highway with our butts in the air because the baby is shrieking and there’s nowhere to pull over. Clearly I know a little something about that.
There are even heated cupholders for a bottle. Which only insures that car marketers can continue to joke that women buy cars for the cupholders, because yep, totally. When I was a new mom, I very well might have bought it for that reason alone, and without apologies.
I do have about a zillion questions about safety and airbags and front seats versus rear seats and conversions to child-size seats and and and and. But still, this is a pretty cool start, right? Especially if it’s as safe as Volvo’s other innovations.
Did you even know that Volvo invented the rear-facing child seat to begin with?
Of course as our own Lisa points out, there is no way the concept mom in the concept car photos is actually that baby’s actual mother. Not just because she looks fantastic and well-rested and still had time to have her hair coiffed perfectly. But because any real mother knows that babies can still projectile vomit far enough to totally ruin your silk designer jumpsuit all the way in the back.
The Volvo Child Seat concept is still in concept stage; no statement on whether it will reach production but we’ll keep an eye on it.
via Car Scoops
My old Volvo station wagon had two built-in booster seats in the rear, which was fantastic. So I’m optimistic about this new development, even if I’ll never need it myself!
There is a reason why babies are not suppose to be in the front seat. Any mother or father with any sense at all would not put their child at risk. No matter where in the car the child is placed, they are still in danger. But to put them in something like this is just down right ignorant.
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Thanks for your comment Sarah, however it has been edited to remove expletives.
Our assumption is that the team at Volvo has some knowledge about car seat safety, and about innovations that may be an improvement over the current conventional wisdom.
Oooo, but what about multiples? I’m so excited for this car haha
What happens when the baby turns into a toddler? Can this car seat only go in the front? Just wondering…..
Great question! We had the same one. I just saw that someone from the Volvo team answered this on a Facebook thread:
We have not carried out any physical tests during the development. It is a design concept only at this stage. If we decide to develop the concept further this is of course a natural and important part of our process. Volvo Cars have developed and tested child seats since mid-60’ies. We know what is required to make a safe rearward facing seat and will make sure that a potential production version of the concept seat will fulfil all those requirements.
The principles for this concept is that it is mounted on the seat tracks and can be replaced with eg. a passenger seat, just by visiting the workshop. So, when there is no use for this seat, it can be removed.
Looks fantastic, hopefully they can bring it to the public.
My son loves Volvo, always spotting them when out about.