Tesla has picked up its first award from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), as the 2019 Model 3, its most expensive sedan, achieved a 'Top Safety Pick+' rating.
The IIHS noted the Model 3 joins one other full EV, the Audi e-tron, "in the IIHS winner's circle" while the hydrogen fuel cell Hyundai Nexo EV also recently qualified for an award.
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The Chevrolet Bolt, General Motors small EV sold in North America, 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.
"There's no need to trade away safety for a lower carbon footprint when choosing a vehicle."
To achieve the institute's top award, a vehicle must score 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.
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By GlobalDataIt also needs an available [standard or optional at extra cost] front crash prevention system with an advanced or superior rating and good- or acceptable-rated headlights.
For the top-tier award, good ratings are required in the passenger-side small overlap test and the headlight evaluation.
The Model 3, achieved good ratings across the board for crashworthiness.
Its standard front crash prevention system earned a superior rating, avoiding collisions in both the 12mph and 25mph IIHS track tests, and its only available headlights scored 'good'.
The car's structure also held up well in one of the institute's most challenging crash tests, the driver side small overlap front test. Intrusion of eight inches (about 200mm) 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 Tesla generally held up well in the driver side small overlap front test. However, the lower door-hinge pillar moved in 8 inches, and the door sill buckled.
The Bolt, a smaller 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.
IIHS said the Model 3 was the second plug-in EV – with no combustion engine – to earn a 2019 Top Safety Pick+ award after the e-tron, the large SUV.
The e-tron qualified for the award with standard equipment, IIHS noted.
The Nexo, a midsize luxury SUV, also qualified for the top award 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.
