Audi is riding a wave of unprecedented success, with record sales in 2020 boosting the brand's confidence going into the new year. And now the German manufacturer has received even more good news: eight of its models have been recognized for the IIHS's Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus award. The well-deserved winners of the Top Safety Pick award include the A5 Sportback and the Audi Q8 equipped with available LED or Matrix-design LED headlights. Top Safety Pick Plus winners include the e-tron and A6 All-road.

All eight models earned a "Good" rating across all six of the IIHS's crashworthiness categories, making Audi one of the safest car manufacturers out there.

So what exactly makes these 2021 Audi vehicles so safe? It all boils down to Audi's suite of standard and available driver assistance features which consists of Audi's pre-sense driver assistance technologies. Audi pre-sense basic prepares vehicles for impact by closing windows, sunroofs, and pre-tensioning the seatbelts.

Audi pre-sense city/front makes use of the front camera to alert the driver of potential hazards and can implement emergency braking to bring the car to a halt. Below 25 mph this system can help prevent accidents, and can even avoid pedestrians at speeds of up to 52 mph.

At speeds of up to 155 mph, brake intervention can still mitigate accident risks dramatically. Audi side assist makes use of features such a lane departure warning and blind-spot warning to warn of potential side-on hazards. Lane departure warning also vibrates the steering wheel at speeds above 40 mph to warn the driver.

Adaptive cruise control and a top view camera system assist the driver in keeping a safe following distance from cars and objects. Safety levels have always been a big selling point in the premium luxury car market, and rivals such as Mercedes-Benz remain a strong competitor with its C-Class also receiving a Top Safety Pick award. BMW's 3 Series also has a Top Safety Pick award behind its name.