Home

Tesla

Model 3

News

Tesla Model 3 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Award: In-Depth Details And Videos

Tesla Model 3 without a doubt is one of the safest cars available on the market, scoring another maximum safety rating.

2019 Tesla Model 3 moderate overlap IIHS crash test

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Sep 19, 2019 at 8:07am ET

Add InsideEVs as a preferred source in Google

Comment

Tesla Model 3 just received the highest safety award from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS): 2019 Top Safety Pick+, following the Audi e-tron (as expected) and Hyundai NEXO.

The latest achievement comes on top of a 5-star safety rating in every category and sub-category from safety authorities on three continents (NHTSA, Euro NCAP and ANCAP in Australia).

Here is how the IIHS explains Top Safety Pick+ requirements and Model 3 results:

"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.

For the top-tier award, Top Safety Pick+, good ratings are required in the passenger-side small overlap test and the headlight evaluation.

The Model 3, a midsize luxury car that is the most affordable of Tesla's three vehicles, earns good ratings across the board for crashworthiness. Its standard front crash prevention system earns a superior rating, avoiding collisions in both the 12 mph and 25 mph IIHS track tests, and its only available headlights earn 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. 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, and the front and side airbags and the seat belt worked well to control the dummy's movement during the crash."

IIHS Chief Research Officer David Zuby said:

"Vehicles with alternative powertrains have come into their own. There's no need to trade away safety for a lower carbon footprint when choosing a vehicle."

See Tesla Model 3 detailed results at the IIHS website here.

"Now, in new tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Model 3 has been named a 2019 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ vehicle, the highest achievement awarded by the Institute. To evaluate whether Model 3 met the criteria for this top rating, IIHS tested the car’s crashworthiness, occupant protection, crash avoidance, and headlight systems. Model 3 earned top marks in all eight tests, including a superior rating in front crash prevention, which evaluates a car’s Automatic Emergency Braking system, and the highest possible rating in IIHS’ headlight assessment."

"The safety of our customers is what matters most, which is why our active safety features and passive safety equipment come standard on all of our cars. We’re also committed to making our cars even safer over time via over-the-air updates, helping us ensure that all Tesla drivers have access to the best safety features available for their cars."

BEV specifics and overall design:

"Part of what makes Model 3 so safe is its all-electric powertrain design, which gives the car a low center of gravity that reduces roll-over risk, as well as its rigid aluminum and steel passenger cabin that provides exceptional strength to equally protect drivers and passengers. Additionally, Model 3’s lack of an engine is replaced by a large crumple zone that helps it absorb energy more effectively than a gas car would, dissipating force away from the passenger cabin. This crumple zone contributed to Model 3’s top rating in IIHS’ frontal crash protection tests."

Exceptional strength of the all-glass roof

"The Institute’s results also demonstrate the exceptional strength of Model 3’s all-glass roof, which is supported by a very strong metal body structure and helps protect occupants in roll-over crashes. During testing, the car’s roof was able to successfully resist more than 20,000 pounds of force – that’s more than if we placed five Model 3s on top of the car’s roof at once. And, the roof earned a higher strength-to-weight ratio score than any other fully electric vehicle that IIHS has ever tested."

In-house seats and uniquely shaped front passenger airbag

"In addition, Model 3’s safety restraint system also earned high marks in IIHS’ evaluation. This was due in part to Model 3’s seats, which are designed and manufactured in-house at our dedicated seat factory in Fremont, as well as our thick curtain airbag and uniquely shaped front passenger airbag, which help protect a passenger’s head from the car’s A-pillar and center screen."

What do you think?

View

Comments

Headlights and Automatic Emergency Braking

"In terms of crash mitigation, good headlights can help prevent nighttime crashes, which is why Model 3 comes standard with automatic high and low beam headlights that earned top marks in IIHS testing. And, when it comes to crash prevention, Model 3 earned a superior rating thanks to our Automatic Emergency Braking system, which successfully avoided collisions at both 12 miles per hour and 25 miles per hour."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Insideevs.com?

Take our 3 minute survey.

- The InsideEVs team

Share this Story

GO TO COMMENTS

(

)

Got a tip for us? Email: tips@insideevs.com

Hide press release Show press release

Model 3 Earns the 2019 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Award

The Tesla Team September 18, 2019

We engineer our cars to be the best in the world – in every category. Model 3, our most affordable car yet, is no exception. From the start, we designed it to be among the safest cars ever built, with the goal of getting as many Model 3s on the road as possible to further our mission.

Model 3 has already earned a 5-star safety rating in every category and sub-category from safety authorities on three continents (North America, Europe and Australia), and it has received top marks around the world for its advanced safety assistance features like Automatic Emergency Braking.

Now, in new tests from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Model 3 has been named a 2019 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ vehicle, the highest achievement awarded by the Institute. To evaluate whether Model 3 met the criteria for this top rating, IIHS tested the car’s crashworthiness, occupant protection, crash avoidance, and headlight systems. Model 3 earned top marks in all eight tests, including a superior rating in front crash prevention, which evaluates a car’s Automatic Emergency Braking system, and the highest possible rating in IIHS’ headlight assessment.

Here’s a look at some of the ways we made this happen:

Part of what makes Model 3 so safe is its all-electric powertrain design, which gives the car a low center of gravity that reduces roll-over risk, as well as its rigid aluminum and steel passenger cabin that provides exceptional strength to equally protect drivers and passengers. Additionally, Model 3’s lack of an engine is replaced by a large crumple zone that helps it absorb energy more effectively than a gas car would, dissipating force away from the passenger cabin. This crumple zone contributed to Model 3’s top rating in IIHS’ frontal crash protection tests.

The Institute’s results also demonstrate the exceptional strength of Model 3’s all-glass roof, which is supported by a very strong metal body structure and helps protect occupants in roll-over crashes. During testing, the car’s roof was able to successfully resist more than 20,000 pounds of force – that’s more than if we placed five Model 3s on top of the car’s roof at once. And, the roof earned a higher strength-to-weight ratio score than any other fully electric vehicle that IIHS has ever tested.

In addition, Model 3’s safety restraint system also earned high marks in IIHS’ evaluation. This was due in part to Model 3’s seats, which are designed and manufactured in-house at our dedicated seat factory in Fremont, as well as our thick curtain airbag and uniquely shaped front passenger airbag, which help protect a passenger’s head from the car’s A-pillar and center screen.

In terms of crash mitigation, good headlights can help prevent nighttime crashes, which is why Model 3 comes standard with automatic high and low beam headlights that earned top marks in IIHS testing. And, when it comes to crash prevention, Model 3 earned a superior rating thanks to our Automatic Emergency Braking system, which successfully avoided collisions at both 12 miles per hour and 25 miles per hour.

The safety of our customers is what matters most, which is why our active safety features and passive safety equipment come standard on all of our cars. We’re also committed to making our cars even safer over time via over-the-air updates, helping us ensure that all Tesla drivers have access to the best safety features available for their cars.

Tesla earns its first-ever safety award from IIHS for Model 3

IIHS, September 19, 2019

ARLINGTON, Va. — Tesla has picked up its first award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, as the 2019 Model 3, its less expensive sedan, qualifies for Top Safety Pick+.

The Model 3 joins one other all-electric plug-in vehicle, the Audi e-tron, in the IIHS winner's circle. A hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, the Hyundai Nexo, also recently qualified for an award.

The Chevrolet Bolt, an all-electric small car, misses 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 says. "There's no need to trade away safety for a lower carbon footprint when choosing a vehicle."

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.

For the top-tier award, Top Safety Pick+, good ratings are required in the passenger-side small overlap test and the headlight evaluation.

The Model 3, a midsize luxury car that is the most affordable of Tesla's three vehicles, earns good ratings across the board for crashworthiness. Its standard front crash prevention system earns a superior rating, avoiding collisions in both the 12 mph and 25 mph IIHS track tests, and its only available headlights earn 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. 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, and the front and side airbags and the seat belt worked well to control the dummy's movement during the crash.

The Bolt, a small car, also performed well in the IIHS crashworthiness tests. It earns good ratings in all of them except for the passenger-side small overlap test, in which it rates acceptable.

In that test, the passenger dummy's movement was less than ideal. After hitting the frontal airbag during the test, the dummy's head moved toward the gap between the frontal and side airbags, leaving it vulnerable to contact with hard parts of the vehicle interior.

The acceptable passenger-side rating would have been enough for the Bolt to earn a Top Safety Pick award when equipped with optional front crash prevention, but the Bolt's only available headlights earn a poor rating, primarily because of excessive glare to oncoming drivers.

The Model 3 is the second plug-in vehicle with no gas engine to earn the 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award after the Audi e-tron, a large SUV. The e-tron qualifies for the award with standard equipment.

Meanwhile, the Hyundai Nexo became the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to earn an award from IIHS over the summer. Like the Model 3 and the e-tron, the Nexo, a midsize luxury SUV, qualifies for Top Safety Pick+ based on standard equipment.

The Nexo is one of three fuel cell vehicles that are commercially available in California. California has promoted the technology and is the only state with a network of retail hydrogen fueling stations.

View all comments ( )

Trending

Kia EV3 Lease Deals Are Here, And It’s Cheaper Than The Chevy Bolt And Nissan Leaf

I Let Android Auto Plan My EV Roadtrip. Here’s How It Worked

This Chevy Bolt Has 470,000 Miles. Here’s How Much A New Battery Was

Here's What It's Like To Take Delivery Of A Rivian R2

Tesla Model 3 IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Award: In-Depth Details And Videos

Tesla Model 3 without a doubt is one of the safest cars available on the market, scoring another maximum safety rating.

See also

Model 3 Earns the 2019 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Award

Tesla earns its first-ever safety award from IIHS for Model 3