The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) just released their 2017 Top Safety Picks, and Volkswagen earned six top safety ratings this year and the very prestigious Top Safety Pick award.
According to the IIHS, “To qualify for 2017 TOP SAFETY PICK, a vehicle must earn good ratings in five crashworthiness tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints — as well as an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention.”. The IIHS also has a second, more advanced category, called the Top Safety Pick+. The IIHS website clarifies, “To qualify for 2017 TOP SAFETY PICK+, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the five crashworthiness tests, an advanced or superior rating for front crash prevention and an acceptable or good headlight rating.”.  Of the 6 VW vehicles awarded Top Safety Picks, only one received the Top Safety Pick+.
That one vehicle is the 2017 Volkswagen Jetta which earned top marks when equipped with optional Forward Collision Warning and Autonomous Emergency Braking (Front Assist) and Xenon headlights. The other VW vehicles to receive Top Safety Picks include the entire 2017 Golf Family (Golf, GTI, Alltrack, and Sportwagen) as well as the 2017 Passat.
Obviously the 2017 VW Passat does pretty well in its crash test, but what is it like to drive? Fortunately, we had the chance to test this vehicle, as well as compare it to an older generation Passat. To see what we thought, be sure to watch the video below:
