2017 Audi A4 Earns Top Safety Score
CARS.COM — The redesigned 2017 Audi A4 earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s highest accolade: Top Safety Pick Plus. The 2016 model’s grim results in the stringent small overlap front test precluded it from earning the agency’s top rating. In that test, IIHS noted significant structure intrusion and a door opening, risking occupant ejection.
Related: 2017 Audi A4 Expert Review
The 2017 A4’s small overlap front rating of good — the highest possible — is a complete turnaround from the 2016’s poor rating — the lowest possible. IIHS observed far less intrusion into the 2017 model’s driver’s space compared with the 2016 model’s structure, concluding that the risk of injuries in the new model is lower.
The A4’s results are good across the board in the five tests of small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints and seats. All A4 models get a Top Safety Pick Plus rating; the car’s standard forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking earned a superior rating, which is one of the requirements that bumps a car’s rating to the Plus designation. Many vehicles only include this system as optional equipment.
