The 2019 Chevrolet Bolt EV, a small car electric car, earns a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety when equipped with optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention.
The 2019 Bolt EV was recently tested for the first time in the passenger-side small overlap crash test, earning an acceptable rating. The Bolt earns good ratings in five other crashworthiness evaluations — the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests.
When the new passenger-side small overlap crash test rating was released in September, the Bolt was not named a Top Safety Pick because the poor headlight rating the car received in the 2017 model year had been carried forward to later years based on information provided by General Motors.
Following the September release, however, GM reported that the headlight aim had been adjusted during the 2018 model year to reduce glare. A new test confirmed that GM’s change had addressed the glare issue, and the modified lights earn an acceptable rating. The new rating applies to all 2019 models and 2018 models built after March 2018.
The Bolt earns a superior rating for its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, which avoided collisions in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph.
To qualify for a 2019 Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. It also needs an advanced or superior rating for vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention and a good or acceptable headlight rating.
With the addition of the Bolt, three all-electric vehicles qualify for a 2019 safety award.
