German Car Maker Audi took the center stage after being awarded its first-ever pure battery electric vehicle (BEV), the E-Tron SUV, as Top Safety Pick+ rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the highest rating awarded by non-profit organizations and funded by auto insurance companies in the United States.
Beating the Tesla Model S and Chevy Bolt, the E-Tron SUV ratings give buyers a way to directly compare the crash worthiness and safety features of different vehicles.
The IIHS “Top Safety Pick+” is based on “Good” ratings—the highest rating given to the vehicle—in the 6 areas of crashworthiness performance: small front overlap collision evaluations on both the driver and passenger sides; moderate front overlap; side impact; roof strength; head restraints and seat performance.
Through IIHS’ evaluations, the e-tron body and structure exceled in safety performance, earning the top rating in all of the said areas. The standard Matrix Design LED headlights and standard automatic emergency braking helped the e-tron achieve the accolade. It comes standard with Audi pre sense basic, which can help prepare the vehicle for impact by partially closing the side windows and sunroof and pre-tensioning the front safety belts.
Using a front-mounted camera, the e-tron can help initiate braking at speeds of up to 87-kilometers per hour for detected pedestrians and bicyclists and can bring a vehicle to a full stop when traveling at speeds under 40 kilometers per hour.
The Audi e-tron is the first full electric all-wheel drive SUV which is powered by two large lithium-ion battery with 95 kWh stored energy to provide a range of over 400 kilometers. With 561 Newton Meter of torque, the two electric motors accelerate the electric SUV from zero to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.6 seconds.
Check out the 2019 Audi e-tron 40 mph moderate overlap IIHS crash test: