Audi A6, Q8 get nod from Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

MANILA: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States has granted the 2020 Audi Q8 its Top Safety Pick award and the 2020 Audi A6 the Highest Top Safety Pick+ award. This is following the excellent performance that these new models have displayed in IIHS testing.

Both Audi Q8 and A6 garnered “Good” ratings in all the six IIHS crashworthiness performance assessments and attained “Superior” ratings for front crash prevention evaluations.

In August 2019, the Audi E-Tron was the first pure electric vehicle (EV) to be recognized with the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award.

The IIHS is regarded as an independent, non-profit organization, which helps decrease losses due to crashes. This is through the evaluation of two aspects related to vehicle safety level and its rating. 

The first factor is crashworthiness or how effective a vehicle safeguards its passengers during a crash. The other is crash mitigation and avoidance, which takes into consideration the innovations in a vehicle that, can evade or minimize the impact of a crash.

In the assessment of the crashworthiness of a vehicle, the IIHS conducted six crash evaluations. These include head restraints and seats, roof strength, side, passenger-side small overlap front, driver-side small overlap front, and moderate overlap front.

For front crash prevention ratings, the IIHS performed moderate- and low-speed track assessments of vehicles with automatic braking systems.

Essential to the superb performance of the Audi A6 and Q8 in the IIHS assessments is a complete array of available and standard driver assistance features. These include the Audi Pre-Sense, which can prepare vehicles for the severity of crashes.

Pre-Sense also automatically closes the panoramic sunroof (for the Audi Q8) and side windows, offers acoustic and visual warnings to notify the driver regarding possible risky situations, and pre-tensions front seatbelts.

Another feature that adds to the top safety ratings of the mentioned Audi models is the Rear Cross-Traffic Assist, which aids drivers when reversing outside perpendicular parking space.

The 2020 Audi A6 features a 2.0-liter TFSI, inline-four, turbocharged, gasoline engine equipped with a mild-hybrid system consisting of lithium-ion batteries and belt alternator starter (BAS).

The engine of the A6 produces 370Nm of torque and 245hp of power output, which are brought to the wheels through the Audi S Tronic seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

A turbocharged 3.0-liter, six-cylinder TFSI gasoline engine provides power to the 2020 Audi Q8. It generates 500Nm of torque and 340hp of power output and is also fitted with a mild hybrid system.

Complementing the power plant are the Quattro permanent all-wheel drive unit and the eight-speed tiptronic transmission. The 21-inch graphite gray alloy wheels with five-arm star configuration come as standard to the 2020 Audi Q8.

The Audi Drive Select dynamic handling feature and the adaptive air suspension with damper control, which can modify the ride height of the vehicle according to the preference of the driver and the driving situation, are also standard on the Q8.

Both the 2020 Q8 and A6 are fitted with the 12.3-inch virtual cockpit with  high-resolution display, as well as the MMI touch response system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.

The upper MMT touch response display, wherein its black-panel look closes into a black surface when it is switched off, utilizes a 10.1-inch screen for managing the navigation and infotainment systems.

Another 8.6-inch display, positioned at the lower area of the dash, enables the driver to access comfort, air-conditioning, and ventilation functions, along with text input. Both high-resolution touch displays require no knobs or buttons and provide acoustic and haptic feedback.

The 2020 Audi Q8 and Audi A6 are available at Audi dealer outlets at SM City Seaside Cebu, Westgate, Alabang, Bonifacio Global City (BGC), and EDSA Greenhills.

Photos from Audi

Also read: Q8 among featured models in Audi Factory Warehouse Sale 2.0