The Audi A3 can finally say it’s a Top Safety Pick+.
Two headlight options for the compact luxury car earn an acceptable rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), boosting it from a Top Safety Pick to a Top Safety Pick+ award winner. The Audi A3 has a standard, superior-rated front crash prevention system, but it’s the LED headlights on the Prestige trim and the optional LED lighting package on the Premium Plus trim that helped it earn highest honors from IIHS.
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It’s worth noting that the high-intensity discharge (HID) lights on the lowest trim level, Premium, and on the Premium Plus trim without the LED lighting package earn a poor rating.
To qualify for a 2017 Top Safety Pick award from IIHS, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the five IIHS crashworthiness tests that include small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. It also has to earn an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention. To earn a Top Safety Pick+, they must also earn an acceptable or good rating for headlights.