The "Top Safety Pick" Awards Keep Coming!

Four Volkswagen models are the latest of our company’s products to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) TOP SAFETY PICK award for 2010, the highest rating possible from the non-profit research organization. IIHS recognized the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta, Passat, Golf, and Tiguan each as a TOP SAFETY PICK.

For the first time, good performance in a roof strength test to measure protection in a rollover is required to win. This is only the second time the Institute has tightened criteria since announcing the first award recipients in 2005.

"TOP SAFETY PICKS are the vehicles on the top rung for safety," said IIHS president Adrian Lund. "These Volkswagen models are in an elite group that afford the best protection in the most common kinds of crashes, and have electronic stability control to keep drivers out of many crashes altogether."

What the Award Means

The TOP SAFETY PICK award recognizes vehicles that perform best in protecting its occupants in the Institute’s front, side, and rear crash tests, and the newly required roof-strength test evaluations. To earn a TOP SAFETY PICK award, a vehicle must have good ratings in all four tests, and must also include electronic stability control (branded Electronic Stabilization Program or ESP on Volkswagen vehicles).

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is a highly respected independent, nonprofit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to reducing the losses — deaths, injuries, and property damage — from crashes on the nation's highways. For over 30 years, the IIHS has been a leader in finding out how to prevent motor vehicle crashes and how to reduce the human and financial losses of the crashes that do occur. The IIHS operates the Vehicle Research Center (VRC), which includes a state-of-the-art crash test facility.