VOLVO can hold its head high having seen its models voted the best when it comes to whiplash prevention.

Recent tests by the International Insurance Whiplash Prevention Group, saw many other manufacturer's car seats and head restraints criticised as being unsafe.

"We are very pleased that the Volvo seats have performed in line with our expectations," says a Volvo spokesman.

"Tests only show a part of what happens in real life. However, this is one of several results that confirm Volvo has the right approach to help reduce neck injuries in rear impacts."

In Volvo's Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS) the entire backrest is designed to help protect the occupant's neck in a rear impact.

Introduced in 1998 WHIPS is standard in all Volvo car models.

The spokesman said: "After having the system in our cars for six years now, the feedback from Volvo Cars' own accident research team shows that WHIPS has halved the risk of long-term neck injuries in rear-end impacts even compared to previous Volvo seats."

More than 200 front seats were tested in the USA and Europe by the testing group to measure how head restraints were designed and how they performed in a crash simulation where the seat was placed on a sled that reproduced a rear impact with a speed of 10mph (16km/h).

All Volvo seats tested - whether from the Volvo V70, XC90, S40, S60 or S80 - achieved the top result.

Updated: 12:02 Friday, November 19, 2004