- The institute “asked auto manufacturers to do more this year to qualify for our safety awards,” Adrian Lund, IIHS president, said when the 2016 ratings were announced.
- Overall, Volkswagen AG brands notched seven Top Safety Pick+ awards, behind only two other automakers.
- Three Audi models were named Top Safety Pick+ in large part because of the available Driver Assistance package
Audi enters the new year with three 2016 models that met tougher safety criteria to earn Top Safety Pick+ awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The institute, one of America’s foremost evaluators of automotive safety, “asked auto manufacturers to do more this year to qualify for our safety awards,” Adrian Lund, IIHS president, said when the 2016 ratings were announced.
And Audi delivered. The 2016 Audi A3 sedan, Audi A6 sedan when built after January 2015 and Audi Q5 crossover-utility vehicle each earned the institute’s highest designation for vehicle crash-avoidance capabilities and for structural crashworthiness. Overall, Volkswagen AG brands notched seven Top Safety Pick+ awards, behind only two other automakers.
Three Audi models were named Top Safety Pick+ in large part because of the available Driver Assistance package, which includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality, Audi active lane assist and high-beam assistant. The A6 also features a top-view camera system, and Q5 includes the Audi parking system plus.
To qualify for Top Safety Pick+, manufacturers now must equip vehicles with a front-crash prevention system that is rated superior or advanced by the institute and demonstrates automatic-braking capabilities. These vehicles must stop or slow down without driver intervention before hitting a target in tests at 12 mph, 25 mph or both, the institute said.
This requirement for Top Safety Pick+ is in addition to baseline requirements for good ratings in the small-overlap front, moderate-overlap front, side, roof- strength and head-restraint tests, as well as offering a standard or optional front-crash prevention system. Top Safety Pick is the designation for vehicles whose crash-prevention systems don’t demonstrate the highest capabilities.
The Insurance Institute designated 48 vehicles as Top Safety Pick+ this year and 13 more as Top Safety Pick.
