Top Safety Pick

2009 Audi A3

midsize car / 4-door wagon

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

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.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2006-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2006 Audi A3 2.0T wagon

The Audi A3 was introduced in the 2006 model year.

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

Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.

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

Smeared greasepaint above the dummy's head indicates where the head hit the roof rail during rebound. Head acceleration from this hit was low.

Intrusion into the driver's space was minimal (shown with carpeting removed).

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0528
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	7
Left (cm)	10
Center (cm)	7
Right (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	6
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-1
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEF0528
Head
HIC-15	365
Peak gs at hard contact	37
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm)	13
Maximum Nij	0.37
Chest maximum compression (mm)	32
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	3.4
Femur force - right (kN)	3.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	0
Knee displacement - right (mm)	4
Maximum tibia index - left	0.41
Maximum tibia index - right	0.97
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	1.8
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	4.2
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	56
Right	139

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2006-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2006 Audi A3 2.0T wagon with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The Audi A3 was introduced in the 2006 model year.

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

View of the vehicle and barrier just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Action shot taken during the side impact crash test showing the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	CES0525
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-13.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0525
Head HIC-15	300
Neck
Tension (kN)
Compression (kN)
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	41
Lateral force (kN)	1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	31
Average deflection (mm)	29
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.46
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.44
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.6
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.0
Combined force (kN)	3.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.2
L-M moment (Nm)	55
A-P moment (Nm)	19

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CES0525
Head HIC-15	146
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.3
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	42
Lateral force (kN)	2.0
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	31
Average deflection (mm)	28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	2.59
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.33
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.3
Acetabulum force (kN)	2.9
Combined force (kN)	3.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.4
L-M moment (Nm)	48
A-P moment (Nm)	-28

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2006-13 models

Tested vehicle: 2009 Audi A3 2.0 TFSI wagon

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,224 lbs
Peak force	13,429 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.17

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	40
Distance below top of head (mm)	51
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.6
Head contact time (ms)	65
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	2
Max neck tension (N)	483

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