Audi TT Euro NCAP crash test

4 stars. Overall good performance in crash protection and all round; additional crash avoidance technology may be present

The passenger compartment of the TT remained stable in the offset deformable barrier impact.  Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of the driver and passenger dummies.  Audi showed that a similar level of protection would be provided to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions.  In the full-width frontal impact (new for 2015), protection for the small female in the driver's seat was good for all body areas except the chest, protection of which was adequate.  Audi showed that a very similar level of protection would be provided for the same size of occupant in the front passenger seat.  Although Audi does not recommend the use of the rear seats for persons taller than 1.45m for safety reasons, Euro NCAP used the 1.50m small female dummy in the rear, passenger-side seat, in keeping with its protocols.  The test car, sourced in the UK, was equipped with rear seatbelt pre-tensioners, although this is not standard equipment everywhere in Europe.  In the test, the head of the dummy contacted the rear of the front passenger seat, but injury values were low and protection was rated as good.  Protection of the neck was adequate while measurements of chest compression indicated a marginal level of protection for this part of the body.  In the side barrier test, the TT scored maximum points, with good protection of all parts of the body.  Even in the more severe side pole impact, the TT provided good protection to all parts of the dummy and scored full points. Euro NCAP tested the variant that is currently available in the UK, fitted with non-standard alcantara seats.  Those front seats provided good protection against whiplash injury in the event of a rear-end collision but a geometric assessment of the rear seats indicated poor whiplash protection.  The TT does not have a low-speed autonomous braking system.

There is not sufficient space in the rear seats to use Audi's recommended child restraints when the front seats are in the positions needed to assess adult occupant protection.  Separate tests were conducted, with the front seats moved forward, to establish the protection provided to children.  Based on those dynamic tests results, the TT scored maximum points for its protection of the 3 year dummy.  Both dummies were seated in rearward-facing restraints and, in the side impact, both were properly contained within the protective shells of the restraints, minimising the risk of head contact with parts of the vehicle interior.  The front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. The rear seats cannot accommodate several categories of child restraint as the upright seating position does not allow for a stable installation.

The TT has an 'active' bonnet.  Sensors detect when a pedestrian has been struck and actuators lift the bonnet, creating more space between the bonnet surface and the hard structures underneath.  Audi showed that the system worked for a broad range of speeds and for many pedestrian statures so the car was tested with the bonnet in the deployed (raised) position.  The protection provided to the head of a struck pedestrian was almost entirely good or adequate, with some marginal and poor results recorded on the bonnet edges and the stiff windscreen pillars.  The protection provided to pedestrian's legs by the bumper was good in all areas tested, as was that provided by the front edge of the bonnet, both of these areas scoring maximum points in Euro NCAP's tests.

The TT has electronic stability control as standard equipment, together with a seatbelt reminder system for the front and rear seats.  A driver-set speed limitation device is an option but is expected to be fitted to most vehicles sold so it was included in the assessment and met Euro NCAP's requirements for systems of this type.  A lane departure warning system is also an option that was tested and fulfilled the requirements.  An autonomous emergency braking system is not currently available on the TT.