In a week where performance headlines and Formula 1 news continue to dominate the Audi story, the brand quietly reinforced something more fundamental to its day-to-day ownership experience: safety.
Audi has secured six 2026 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards—more than any other luxury manufacturer as of March 2026. It’s a distinction that may not generate the same level of attention as Nürburgring lap battles or RS-badge launches, but arguably carries more weight many owners.
The highest IIHS designation was awarded to the 2026 Audi A5, Audi Q5 and Audi Q5 Sportback, alongside the next-generation electric lineup including the 2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron, Audi Q6 e-tron and Audi Q6 Sportback e-tron.
That breadth spans Audi’s core combustion models and its next wave of EVs, suggesting the brand’s safety engineering is carrying over cleanly into its electrified future.
Just as important is the timing.
For 2026, IIHS significantly tightened its evaluation criteria. What previously separated a TOP SAFETY PICK from a TOP SAFETY PICK+ has effectively narrowed, with stricter requirements now applied across both tiers. A “good” rating in the updated moderate overlap front crash test—now emphasizing rear-seat passenger protection—is mandatory across the board. Advanced driver assistance systems also face greater scrutiny, particularly in pedestrian detection and vehicle-to-vehicle crash prevention scenarios that now include motorcycles and semitrailers.
In other words, the bar moved—and yet Audi continues to clear it.
Equally relevant is that many of these systems must now be standard equipment to qualify. That shift removes safety from the options list and places it squarely into a broader spectrum of ownership experience, where it belongs.
For Audi, this result highlights an important theme unfolding alongside its push into electrification and Formula 1. While the brand leans into performance credibility—whether through the arrival of the Audi Revolut F1 Team or the rollout of its latest hybridized RS models—it’s also reinforcing the less visible pillars that define long-term ownership: safety and usability.
Award winners (model year 2026 unless otherwise noted)
WINNERS TOP SAFETY PICK+
| Segment | Model |
|---|---|
| Midsize Luxury Car | Audi A5 |
| Large Luxury Car | 2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron |
| Midsize Luxury SUVs | Audi Q5 |
| Midsize Luxury SUVs | Audi Q5 Sportback |
| Midsize Luxury SUVs | 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron |
| Midsize Luxury SUVs | 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron Sportback |
WINNERS TOP SAFETY PICK
| Segment | Model |
|---|---|
| Large SUVs | Audi Q7 |