Top-selling Audi A4 and Q5 models earn Insurance Institute TOP SAFETY PICK rating
- Audi now has
the most TOP SAFETY PICK ratings among German luxury
automakers- Stringent new rollover roof strength
test added for 2010 by Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety- No structural changes needed for A3, A4,
and Q5 models to be rated with the new TOP SAFETY PICK rollover testing
criteria
HERNDON, Va., Jun
9, 2010 - Audi of America, Inc. today announced
that the Q5 and A4 models earned 2010 TOP SAFETY PICK ratings from the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The
two best-selling Audi models join the Audi A3 in achieving the highest
safety recognition granted by the influential
IIHS.
Today's news means Audi offers more vehicles
with the TOP SAFETY PICK rating than any German luxury
automaker.
"Safety is a leading criterion for
customers wishing to purchase a luxury vehicle," said Johan de Nysschen,
President, Audi of America. "It is an important step that now three
Audi vehicles are designated with TOP SAFETY PICK ratings, the highest
number for a German luxury brand. In particular, the A4 and Q5 models
are our highest selling nameplates, whose value is only increased by
these IIHS results."
For the 2010 model year and
beyond, IIHS included a new rollover roof strength test. To earn TOP
SAFETY PICK recognition, a vehicle must earn the highest rating of good
for roof strength in rollover crashes. To measure roof strength, a metal
plate is pushed against one corner of a vehicle's roof at a constant
speed. The maximum force sustained by the roof before 5 inches of crush
is compared to the vehicle's weight to find the strength-to-weight
ratio. This is a good assessment of vehicle structural protection in
rollover crashes.
A vehicle earning a good rating can withstand
a force equal to at least 4 times the vehicle's weight. Current federal
standards require a vehicle's roof to withstand 1.5 times total
weight.
TOP SAFETY PICK also recognizes the vehicles
that earn the highest rating of good for front, side, rollover, and rear
crash protection, and that have electronic stability control, which is
standard on all of these models.
None of the three
Audi models with the TOP SAFETY PICK rating required any structural
changes to meet the rollover testing criteria. The A3 has been on sale
in the U.S. since Spring 2005 and received interior and exterior trim
updates in Fall 2008. Its year-to-date sales are up over 100% due to the
introduction of a TDI clean diesel variant in November 2009. The
current A4 was completely redesigned with a U.S. market introduction in
fall 2008, whose sporty upgrade variant, the S4, has yet to lose a
comparison test. The Q5 went on sale in the U.S. in February 2009,
quickly becoming one of the most successful nameplates in the Audi
global product portfolio.
"You can't predict what
kind of crash you're going to be in, so it's important to buy a vehicle
that will protect you in all kinds of crashes," said IIHS president
Adrian Lund. "The A3, A4, and Q5 are in an elite group of vehicles that
afford the highest level of front, side, rollover, and rear crash
protection, and that have electronic stability control to help prevent
crashes from happening altogether."