Volvo creates the ultimate luxury child car seat
Volvo's Child Seat concept sets new standards for in-car infant luxury. Is this the future of the child car seat?
Fresh from its victory in the Auto Express New Car Awards 2015, the Volvo XC90 is looking to improve the way it caters to the younger market with the new Child Seat Concept.
The Volvo XC90 has taken a child-focused step on from the previous Lounge Console concept which saw the front seat replaced by a footrest, TV, table and storage. This time, Volvo's interior designers have created a front seat assembly that makes way for a luxurious leather-trimmed child seat.
The seat sits atop a swivelling, raised platform designed to make life easier for the doting parents and secure the toddler in complete comfort and safety. The XC90's heated cupholders can warm the milk, while underneath, there's loads of storage for nappies, blankets, toys, and any other paraphernalia that someone mad or rich enough to buy a car specifically for their baby might need. Diamond-encrusted dummies, perhaps?
The idea does at least have a sensible grounding behind it. Volvo pioneered the rear-facing child seat in 1972, and say that babies should travel rear-facing for as much of the time as possible as their fragile necks and large heads lack the support to be truly safe travelling forwards. Volvo's seat also offers the advantage of being able to maintain full eye contact with your baby from the back seat.
The concept does cast light onto Volvo's safety aspirations. The company has said that it aims for nobody to be seriously injured in one of its cars by 2020, and so numerous innovations like a pedestrian airbag and auto-braking have made their way onto Volvo's production vehicles. It continues a long history of safety technology from the Swedish carmaker, beginning with the invention of the three-point seatbelt in 1959.
It's possible that we may see a watered-down version of this concept make its way into Volvos in the future. A front passenger seat that's able to move out of the way to accomodate a baby facing the rear seats would provide the best of both worlds. But for now at least, struggling with ISOFIX mounts and seatbelts is the only option.
Would you buy a car like this to keep your baby as safe and comfortable as possible? Let us know in the comments below...
