The U.S.A. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the 2020 Audi A6 the highest Top Safety Pick+ and the 2020 Audi Q8 the Top Safety Pick awards after the models excelled in IIHS testing. Both cars earned top “Good” ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness performance evaluations, and achieved “Superior” ratings for front crash prevention tests.
The 2020 A6 and Q8 are the latest vehicles in the Audi lineup to receive the IIHS Top Safety Pick+ and Top Safety Pick awards. In August 2019, the Audi e-tron became the first pure battery-electric vehicle to be named an IIHS Top Safety Pick+.
The IIHS is an independent, nonprofit organization aiming to reduce losses from crashes by determining the safetylevel of vehicles, then rating these.It tests two aspects of a vehicle’s safety. The first aspect is crashworthiness, or how well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash.The other is crash avoidance and mitigation, which considersthe technologies in a vehicle that can prevent—or lessen the severity of—a crash.
In evaluating a vehicle’s crashworthiness, the IIHSperforms six crash tests: moderate overlap front, driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraints and seats. For front crash prevention ratings, the IIHS conducts low- and moderate-speed track tests of vehicles with automatic braking systems.
Key to the 2020 Audi A6’s and Audi Q8’s excellent performance in the IIHS tests are their full suite of standard and available driver assistance features. These include the Audi pre sense, which can prepare the cars for impact. The feature closes the models’ side windows and panoramic sunroof (for the Audi Q8), pre-tensions their front seatbelts, and provides visual and acoustic warnings to help alert the driver to potentially hazardous situations. Another feature contributing to the models’ top safety ratings is the rear cross-traffic assist, which helps drivers when they are reversing out of a perpendicular parking space.
The Audi A6 has a 2.0-liter TFSI, inline-four, turbocharged, gasoline engine fitted with a mild hybrid system composed of a belt alternator starter (BAS) and lithium-ion batteries. The system outputs 245 hp and 370 Nm, sent to the wheels via the Audi S tronic 7-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Meanwhile, powering the Audi Q8 is a turbocharged, 3.0-liter, six-cylinder TFSI gasoline engine that produces 340 hp and 500 Nm, and is also equipped with a mild hybrid system. Matched to the power plant are an eight-speed tiptronic transmission and the quattro permanent all-wheel drive unit. Standard on the Audi Q8 are 21-inch graphite gray alloy wheels with a five-arm star design. Also fitted as standard are an adaptive air suspension with damper control (which can adjust the vehicle’s ride height depending on the driving situation and the driver’s preference) and the Audi drive select dynamic handling feature.
Both the A6 and Q8 are equipped with Audi’s 12.3 inch Virtual Cockpit with full high-resolution display, and an MMI touch response system that’s compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The upper MMI touch response display, whose black-panel look dissolves into a large, black surface when switched off, uses a 10.1-inch screen for controlling the infotainment and the navigation systems. Another 8.6-inch display, placed at the lower part of the dash, allows the driver to access ventilation, air-conditioning and comfort functions, as well as text input. Both high-resolution touch displays need almost no buttons or knobs, and offer haptic and acoustic feedback.
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