Top Safety Pick +

2016 Audi A3

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Optional system	Advanced

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Optional lane departure warning
Optional lane departure prevention

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Audi A3 1.8T Premium 4-door

The Audi A3 was redesigned for the 2015 model year after a one-year absence from the market.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	CEN1413
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	13
Footrest (cm)	7
Left toepan (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	1
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	2
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	6
Upper dash (cm)	7
Lower instrument panel (cm)	6

Driver injury measures

Test ID	CEN1413
Head
HIC-15	103
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	11
Maximum Nij	0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm)	25
Femur (kN)
Left	1.4
Right	0.0
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.62
Right	0.66
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	3.8
Right	1.1
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	75
Right	35

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Audi A3 2.0T Premium quattro 4-door 4wd

The Audi A3 was redesigned for the 2015 model year after a one-year absence from the market. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Volkswagen/Audi.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head contacted the frontal airbag but started to move toward the right side, leaving the head vulnerable to contact with forward structure. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects.
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID	VTP1813
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	14
Footrest (cm)	15
Right toepan (cm)	6
Center toepan (cm)	3
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	0
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm)	4
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	6
Upper dash (cm)	7
Right lower dash (cm)	6

Passenger injury measures

Test ID	VTP1813
Head
HIC-15	95
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm)	29
Maximum Nij	0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm)	19
Femur (kN)
Left	1.2
Right	1.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	3
Right	2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.41
Right	0.27
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	1.5
Right	1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	73
Right	40

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTP1813
Head
HIC-15	153
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.9
Extension bending moment (Nm)	8
Maximum Nij	0.21
Chest maximum compression (mm)	24
Femur (kN)
Left	0.1
Right	0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	1
Right	1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	0.33
Right	0.22
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	0.3
Right	0.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	45
Right	31

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Audi A3 1.8T Premium 4-door

The Audi A3 was redesigned for the 2015 model year after a one-year absence from the market. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Volkswagen/Audi.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	VTF1321
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	3
Left (cm)	4
Center (cm)	6
Right (cm)	2
Brake pedal (cm)	4
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	-1
Right (cm)	-1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	-1
Rearward (cm)	-6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTF1321
Head
HIC-15	212
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm)	10
Maximum Nij	0.25
Chest maximum compression (mm)	31
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.4
Femur force - right (kN)	1.5
Knee displacement - left (mm)	1
Knee displacement - right (mm)	2
Maximum tibia index - left	0.36
Maximum tibia index - right	0.39
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	68
Right	31

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2015-20 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Audi A3 1.8T Premium 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Audi A3 was redesigned for the 2015 model year after a one-year absence from the market. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Volkswagen/Audi.

Driver injury measures
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID	VTS1314
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-17.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID	VTS1314
Head HIC-15	503
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Compression (kN)	0.1
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	43
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	41
Average deflection (mm)	40
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.84
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.82
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	3.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.4
Combined force (kN)	5.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	1.1
L-M moment (Nm)	134
A-P moment (Nm)	72

Passenger injury measures

Test ID	VTS1314
Head HIC-15	165
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.4
Compression (kN)	0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	38
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	33
Average deflection (mm)	28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	5.12
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.80
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.4
Combined force (kN)	2.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.6
L-M moment (Nm)	98
A-P moment (Nm)	70

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2015-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2015 Audi A3 1.8T Premium 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,116 lbs
Peak force	19,325 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	6.20

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Geometry
Seat type	Power leather seat
Backset (mm)	22
Distance below top of head (mm)	13
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	14.5
Head contact time (ms)	54
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	389

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 2 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

Premium trim
Premium Plus trim

Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Low-beam headlight type	HID projector
High-beam headlight type	HID projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and fair on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right curve and fair on the sharp right and both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was fair on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test

Trim level(s)	Premium trim Premium Plus trim
Low-beam headlight type	HID projector
High-beam headlight type	HID projector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2016 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	103.5 m	None
Straightaway left edge	53.9 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	66.4 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	55.4 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	54.6 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	47.8 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	178.1 m
Straightaway left edge	116.7 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	67.3 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	61.3 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	56.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	54.3 m

Trim level(s)

Premium Plus trim equipped with Lighting package
Prestige trim

Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Low-beam headlight type	LED reflector
High-beam headlight type	LED reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was inadequate on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was inadequate in all 4 tests.

Technical measurements for this test

Trim level(s)	Premium Plus trim equipped with Lighting package Prestige trim
Low-beam headlight type	LED reflector
High-beam headlight type	LED reflector
Curve-adaptive?	No
High-beam assist?	No
Overall rating Applies to 2016 models

LOW BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)	Amount glare exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge	71.2 m	None
Straightaway left edge	30.9 m	None
250m radius right curve, right edge	43.3 m	None
250m radius left curve, left edge	37.2 m	None
150m radius right curve, right edge	32.7 m	None
150m radius left curve, left edge	33.3 m	None

HIGH BEAMS	Average minimum useful illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge	146.6 m
Straightaway left edge	113.9 m
250m radius right curve, right edge	58.9 m
250m radius left curve, left edge	57.0 m
150m radius right curve, right edge	44.8 m
150m radius left curve, left edge	45.7 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Optional Audi Pre Sense Front

Package name

Optional Technology Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2015-16 models

Advanced

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
In the 25 mph test, this vehicle failed to slow.

About the original front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2016-23 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	2.0T Premium
Seat type	leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim	2.0T Premium
Seat type	leather

G	Good
A	Acceptable
M	Marginal
P	Poor
	Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol	Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol	Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol	Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
	No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
1	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	difficult to maneuver around anchors
2
2	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	none available
3
3	Tether anchor
	easy-to-find location
	no other hardware could be confused for anchor
	Lower anchors
	not too deep in seat
	not too much force needed to attach
	difficult to maneuver around anchors

Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	51
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	55
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Seat position 22

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

Seat position 23

Lower anchor A
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	57
Lower anchor B
Open access rated	Yes
Depth	Visible
Force (lbs)	0
Clearance angle (degrees)	52
Tether anchor
Location	Rear deck
Confusing hardware present	No
Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor	Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH	Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation