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Volvo's XC90 SUV Has A Red Key, It Comes With Speed And Volume Restrictions

Volvo, the automaker known for its focus on safety, offers a “Red Key” for the XC90. While the Swedish SUV was launched in 2014, the optional feature was only recently discovered on the company’s website, while browsing through the available optional extras for the Volvo XC90 T8.
Volvo XC90 22 photos
Photo: Volvo
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Instead of providing extra power or opening up some other function, like other “red keys” do for some cars out there, Volvo’s version restricts top speed and maximum volume of the audio unit.

Unlike the three-point seatbelt, Volvo did not invent this feature. Furthermore, Volvo is not the first automaker to come up with a key or a solution to temporarily limit top speed or audio volume.

Ford Motor Company, the former owner of Volvo Cars, has a system called MyKey that lets parents restrict the vehicles driven by their kids.

Volvo’s Red Key has the same purpose: limiting the top speed of the XC90 SUV, and restraining the volume of the audio system to prevent distracted driving.

As Volvo explains, the system is created for both parents that have to deal with teen drivers, and for customers who leave their vehicles at a facility that has valet parking.

In other words, whenever you find yourself in the position where you have to leave your XC90 in the hands of someone else, but they might need to move the vehicle or even drive it for whatever distance, Volvo proposes the Red Key.

By default, top speed is restricted to 75 mph (120 km/h) if the car is operated with the Red Key, Jalopnik informs. The adaptive cruise control’s settings are also adjusted to the maximum follow interval.

The driver will also be warned when exceeding 30 mph, 45 mph, and 55 mph (50, 70, and 90 km/h). Last, but not least, the volume of the audio system is restricted, and the system can be turned on or off, if desired. Using the usual key of the vehicle along with the “Red Key,” and following a particular procedure, the maximum speed limit could be set to as low as 30 mph (50 km/h).
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About the author: Sebastian Toma
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Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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