Tesla’s Model 3 has been awarded the first ever Top Safety Pick the company has received from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
To earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap test. It also needs an available front crash prevention system with an advanced or superior rating and good or acceptable-rated headlights.
The Model 3 earned good ratings across the board for crashworthiness. Its standard front crash prevention system received a superior rating, avoiding collisions in both the 12 mph and 25 mph IIHS track tests, and its headlights earned a good rating.
The Model 3’s structure held up well in one of the Institute’s most challenging crash tests, the driver-side small overlap front test, according to a release.
Intrusion of 8 inches at the lower door-hinge pillar contributed to a moderate risk of injury to the driver’s lower leg, as indicated by measures taken from the dummy. No other injury risk was recorded. The front and side airbags and the seat belt “worked well to control the dummy’s movement during the crash.”
The 2019 Model 3 joins one other all-electric plug-in vehicle, the Audi e-tron, as a top pick. The Chevrolet Bolt missed out because its headlights cause too much glare, earning a poor rating.
“Vehicles with alternative powertrains have come into their own,” IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby said in a release.. “There’s no need to trade away safety for a lower carbon footprint when choosing a vehicle.”