VIDEO: Chevrolet Bolt Crash Test

The 2017-model year Chevrolet Bolt is a Top Safety Pick Award winner and the first all-electric vehicle to earn a 2017 award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the institute said.

The small car is new for the 2017 model year. Unlike the Chevrolet Volt, it has no back-up gas engine.

The Bolt earned the highest possible rating of “good” in all five of IIHS’s crash tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. (To view video footage of the small overlap front test, click on the photo or link below the headline.)

The car also has an optional front crash prevention system that drew a rating of “superior.” The Bolt avoided collisions in IIHS track tests at 12 mph and 25 mph, and the system has a forward collision-warning component that meets criteria from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

To earn an IIHS Top Safety Pick award, a vehicle must have a rating of “good” in all five crashworthiness tests and an available front crash prevention system with a “superior” or “advanced” rating. Vehicles that meet those criteria and also have headlights garnering a “good” or “acceptable” rating earn the Top Safety Pick+ award.

The Bolt is available only with headlights that drew a “poor” rating from IIHS. They provide fair to good visibility but produce excessive glare for oncoming drivers, the institute said.

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