June 11, 2010
Source: Audi AG
· Audi now has the most TOP SAFETY PICK ratings among German luxury
automakers in the USA
· Stringent new rollover roof strength test added for 2010 by Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety
· No structural changes needed for A3, A4, and Q5 models to be rated
with the new TOP SAFETY PICK rollover testing criteria
Ingolstadt, Germany, The renowned Insurance Institute for
Highway Safety (IIHS) in the USA has awarded both the Audi Q5 and Audi A4
models its 2010 TOP SAFETY PICK rating. These two models join the Audi A3 in
achieving the highest safety recognition granted by the influential IIHS. Audi now
offers more vehicles on the US market with the TOP SAFETY PICK rating than any
German luxury automaker.
The IIHS regularly carries out crash tests on behalf of the US insurance industry on
passenger vehicles of all kinds to establish their safety standard. Experts and car
buyers alike around the world pay close attention to the results. TOP SAFETY PICK
recognizes the vehicles that earn the highest rating of good for front, side and rear
crash protection, and that have electronic stability control, which is standard on all
of these models.
For the 2010 model year and beyond, IIHS had added a new rollover roof strength
test. To earn TOP SAFETY PICK recognition, a vehicle must also earn the highest
rating of good for roof strength in rollover crashes. To measure roof strength, a
metal plate is pushed against one corner of a vehicle’s roof at a constant speed.
The maximum force sustained by the roof before 5 inches of crush is compared to
the vehicle’s weight to find the strength-to-weight ratio. This is a good assessment
of vehicle structural protection in rollover crashes.
A vehicle earning a good rating can withstand a force equal to at least 4 times the
vehicles weight.
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