2017 Chevrolet Volt Is Super-Safe, Gets IIHS Top Safety Pick Plus Rating

The IIHS tested a 2017 Volt, which received "Good" ratings (the highest ones available) across the board. To be more precise, this includes the moderate overlap front, the side, the roof strength and the head restraint tests, as well as the feared small overlap test.

The last brings the most obvious difference when comparing the second-gen Volt to its predecessor, which only received an "Acceptable" rating in that area - the new model has less intrusion into the occupant area.

Another prerequisite for the rating mentioned in the intro is a front crash prevention system, which has to be at least offered as an option. When gifted with the feature in its high-speed form, the gas-electric Chevy avoided 12 mph and 25 mph impacts.

Without this feature, but still packing the low-speed collision avoidance hardware, the Volt managed to avoid the 12 mph collision and lower its speed by 5 mph in the 25 mph test.

The Volt's full safety will also require you to dip into the list of options when it comes to headlight behavior. In standard form, the vehicle received an "Acceptable" rating, still being eligible for the accolade. However, when fitted with the optional high beam assist, the headlight rating climbed to "Good".

You can check out the 2017 Chevy Volt's noble cause sacrifice in the piece of footage at the bottom of the page.

P.S.: We couldn't help but notice how the impact tore the left front rim apart, exposing the braking hardware as if this was a tutorial on how to use the Volt's one-pedal regenerative deceleration feature.