Audi e-tron is the first full electric to earn 2019 IIHS safety award

The Audi e-tron

THE Audi e-tron midsize luxury SUV is the first pure battery-electric vehicle to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2019 “Top Safety Pick+” award, the nonprofit’s highest designation.

Audi said the e-tron has a battery pack housed in a frame with an internal honeycomb structure separating battery cell modules. This helps dissipate energy in a crash. The 95kWh battery pack is also sandwiched between protective covers on top and bottom, with coolant running underneath the battery pack to help maintain optimal thermal efficiency.

The IIHS’s evaluations show the e-tron’s body and structure excelled in safety performance, earning the top “Good” rating in six areas of crashworthiness; small front overlap collision evaluations on both the driver and passenger sides, moderate front overlap, side impact, roof strength and head restraints and seat performance. The e-tron also earned a “Good” rating with its standard Matrix Design LED headlights and “Superior” with standard automatic emergency braking as part of Audi pre sense system. Using a front-mounted camera, the e-tron can help initiate braking for detected pedestrians and bicyclists, and can bring a vehicle to a full stop when traveling at speeds under 40km/h.

The e-tron also comes with the standard 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.

Audi said the e-tron joins the 2019 Audi A3, A4, A6 and Q8 as recipients of 2019 IIHS Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ awards.