Audi Leads All Luxury Brands with Six 2026 IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Awards

[Source: Audi]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) keeps raising the bar to achieve TOP SAFETY PICK+ status and Audi keeps meeting the challenge. They led all luxury brands in TOP SAFETY PICK+ Awards in 2025 and they are doing the same in 2026 under even tougher standards.

A total of six Audi models earned the institute’s highest safety accolade, even as the testing criteria became more demanding than ever. The award winners include the Audi A5, Q5, and Q5 Sportback for the 2026 model year, alongside the all-electric 2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, Q6 e-tron, and Q6 Sportback e-tron. The achievement highlights Audi’s ability to deliver top-tier safety across both traditional combustion and next-generation EV platforms.

What makes this accomplishment even more impressive is the IIHS’s stricter evaluation standards for 2026. In recent years, the organization has placed increased emphasis on rear-seat passenger safety, updating its moderate overlap front crash test to better reflect real-world conditions. Previously, an “acceptable” rating could still earn a vehicle high marks, but for 2026, a “good” rating is now mandatory for both TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards.

Crash prevention requirements have also evolved. While the base TOP SAFETY PICK rating still allows for an acceptable or good score in pedestrian front crash prevention, the TOP SAFETY PICK+ standard now demands a good rating in that test. Additionally, vehicles must perform well in the updated vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention evaluation, which now includes more complex scenarios, such as detecting motorcycles and semitrailers in addition to standard passenger vehicles.

Another key change for 2026 is that advanced crash prevention systems must come standard across all trims to qualify. This ensures safety technology is not limited to higher-priced configurations, reinforcing broader protection for all buyers. As in previous years, strong performance in small overlap front and side-impact tests remains essential, along with high-quality headlights across the entire lineup.

For Audi, these results reinforce its reputation as a leader in automotive safety innovation. More importantly, they show a consistent commitment to protecting not just drivers, but passengers and other road users as well. In an era where safety standards are rising rapidly, Audi isn’t just keeping up, it’s setting the pace.