Tesla’s mid-sized, four-door luxury SUV, the Model Y, is one of the safest vehicles that consumers can drive around in today.
That’s according to the latest tests shared by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), which awarded the electrical SUV its highest possible safety rating this week. Funded by auto insurance companies, the IIHS is a nonprofit organization that’s best known for conducting crash tests on vehicles in the U.S. to evaluate their potential for death or injury.
“To qualify for either of the Institute’s two awards, vehicles must earn good ratings in six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations, including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests,” the IIHS explained. “They must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.”
“For the lower-tier TOP SAFETY PICK award, at least one good or acceptable headlight system must be available. For the higher-tier TOP SAFETY PICK+, good or acceptable headlights must be standard across all trims.”
“Model Y vehicles built after April 2021 meet all the criteria for the ‘plus.’ Following a conversion to a camera only system, the standard front crash prevention system earns superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian tests. The two available headlight systems earn good and acceptable ratings.”
The original version of the Model Y was unveiled by Tesla in March 2019 and brought to market in March 2020. Long Range (318-mile range, 0 to 60 MPH in 4.8 seconds) and Performance (303-mile range, 0 to 60 MPH in 3.5 seconds) versions are available, costing $54,690 and $59,690, respectively.
Source: IIHS