Three Audi vehicles earn highest award

Three Audi models, the A3 midsize luxury car and the Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback electric midsize luxury SUVs, earn 2022 Top Safety Pick+ awards from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

To earn either of the Institute’s two awards this year, a vehicle must earn good ratings in six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations, including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

For the lower-tier Top Safety Pick, at least one good or acceptable headlight system must be available. For the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+, good or acceptable headlights must be standard across all trims.

The 2023 models of all three vehicles meet the requirements for the highest award. Each comes with a standard front crash prevention system that earns a superior rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation and an advanced rating in the daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian test. Good-rated headlights are standard across all trims of the A3. The two electric SUVs are available with good-rated LED projector headlights and acceptable-rated LED reflector headlights, depending on the trim level.

The Top Safety Pick+ award also applies to the 2022 Q4 e-tron and Q4 e-tron Sportback, while poor ratings for two available headlight systems prevent the 2022 A3 from earning the “plus.” The Premium Plus trim of the 2022 A3, which comes with good-rated headlights, earns a lower-tier Top Safety Pick award.