The IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) has given its top rating, the Top Safety Pick+ designation, to the 2019 Audi e-tron SUV, the first all- electric from the German automaker. The midsize luxury SUV is the first all-electric vehicle to earn the distinction in 2019, and what’s notable in the view of the IIHs is that the vehicle earns its top rating with only standard equipment.
The IIHS’s testing resulted in the best-possible Good rating for the e-tron in six areas that looked at crashworthiness, namely small front overlap collision evaluations on both the driver and passenger sides, moderate front overlap, side impact, roof strength and head restraints and seat performance.
The e-tron also earned a Good rating when equipped with its standard Matrix Design LED headlights (the only available for the model), and Superior with standard automatic emergency braking.
The electric SUV earned a Superior rating as well in the front crash prevention track test carried out by the IIHS, managing to avoid a collision in the institute’s 25-mph test.
The 2019 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ designation is awarded through earning Good ratings in the moderate overlap front, driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, side, roof strength, head restraint and headlight tests; a vehicle must also earn no less than an Advanced rating for front-crash prevention, and fare no worse than Good for its headlights.
See also: The five first new 2019 models to get the Top Safety Pick+ designation from the IIHS.
