The Audi e-tron has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The ID.4 doesn’t offer knee airbags.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the e-tron. But it costs extra on the ID.4.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the e-tron’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The ID.4 doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
An active infrared night vision system optional on the e-tron helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera and near-infrared lights to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The ID.4 doesn’t offer a night vision system.
Both the e-tron and the ID.4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The Audi e-tron weighs 888 to 1757 pounds more than the Volkswagen ID.4. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi e-tron is safer than the Volkswagen ID.4:
|
e-tron |
ID.4 |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
2 Stars |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the e-tron, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 1.1% less likely to roll over than the ID.4, which received a four-star rating.