There’s something very satisfying about winning awards, especially when the criteria for winning keep getting stiffer. 

That’s how we’re feeling now that Audi has won six Top Safety Pick+ (TSP+) ratings from the independent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) – more than any other luxury brand. 

The Audi winners include: The Audi A5, Q5, Q5 Sportback, and 2027 model-year Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and Q6 Sportback e-tron.

The IIHS has raised its standards almost yearly, this year emphasizing back seat safety. “This year, we’re asking automakers to make excellent protection for back seat passengers the norm,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “For Top Safety Pick+, we’re requiring crash avoidance systems that are better at preventing pedestrian crashes as well as higher speed crashes with other vehicles.”

TSP+ Winning Criteria

To earn TSP+ status, IIHS tests in six different areas and require:

 

• A good rating in the small overlap front test
• A good rating in the moderate overlap front test
• A good rating in the side impact test
• An acceptable or good rating for headlights (standard availability)
• A good pedestrian front crash prevention rating (standard availability)
• An acceptable or good on vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention (standard availability)
  
  

Additionally, the IIHS looks at seat belt reminders, LATCH (child seat installation) and whiplash prevention. 

 

The IIHS and its safety ratings are a major factor in the increased focus that manufacturers have placed on safety and safety technology. As a recent news release put it, “Safety benefits stack up from driver assistance features.” Simply put new safety technology is responsible for saving lives and saving drivers (and their insurance companies) a lot of money. 

Audi has responded, “As early as 1938, engineers of DKW, one of the four founding brands of today’s AUDI AG, conducted rollover and side impact tests ... among the first systematic crash tests in the history of the automobile.” Today, its active and passive safety technologies are still instrumental in reducing accidents and injuries. 

It’s notable that three of the Audi Top Safety Pick+ winners are electric vehicles (EVs). EVs are becoming more popular, even more so as gasoline costs escalate. Increased range and shorter charging times are convincing American consumers to consider EVs as viable choices for all uses – in-town and beyond. California has been a leader in EV adoption, and Audi Napa Valley is thrilled to see some of these models qualifying for the top safety awards.