Despite all of those YouTube videos of Mustangs spinning out of car events and smacking into passing cars, Ford’s pony car is not the most accident-prone vehicle in the U.S. That’s according to Insurify, a consumer auto insurance website. Based on 4.6 million insurance cases, it sought to determine which vehicles were involved in the most accidents. 

Why is the Audi A4 the most accident-prone?

It found that the national average for vehicle accidents is 7.6% of all drivers in a seven-year period. Topping the list is the Audi S4. Insurify found it had an at-fault record of 11.7%. Put another way; it states that Audi S4 sedans “get into accidents at a rate 54% higher than the national average.” 

This would indicate that the S4 is lacking in safety, but that is not the case. It received the top NCAP rating in Europe of 5 Stars, as does the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gives the A4 its top score of Top Safety Pick +. It says the A4 received a Good rating, its highest score, in all six crashworthiness tests. 

Does the Audi A4 have inferior safety features?

Here’s what safety features are in the A4: departure warning, rain-sensing wipers, rearview camera, high-beam assist, forward collision alert with low-speed autonomous emergency braking, six airbags, two additional rear side thorax airbags, front, and rear parking sensors, Audi side assist with rear pre-sense, active lane assist, a top-view 360-degree camera system, rear cross-traffic alert, head-up display, park assist, and traffic-sign recognition. Whew, is that enough for you?

So what else could be the issue? No conclusions are drawn in the Insurify revelations, and no specific details were part of the rating to indicate the type of accidents. So it is unknown if, say, A4 owners are more prone to driving while intoxicated or if younger, inexperienced drivers are somehow more drawn to Audi A4 sedans. But we would suggest that inexperienced drivers and A4 power may not be the best combination. 

Are there any Scion iA sedans on the road today?

Just to confuse you a bit more, the Scion iA came in second. We didn’t know there were so many iA sedans still plying towns and highways in the U.S. It had an 11.5% at-fault accident rating.

In this case, the younger, inexperienced question may be valid. This owner segment did buy Scion vehicles in higher numbers, attributed partially to the lower MSRP. But Toyota didn’t manufacture Scions after 2016. 

Maybe there is a correlation

Coming in third was Chevrolet Volt EV, at 11%. It is another vehicle that hasn’t been in production for years. The Volt was last made in 2019. 

So maybe all of these models fall into a category, that being older vehicles and selling on the secondary market. And with those older vehicles, safety features are nil. So the myriad of A4 safety features weren’t available, as with most vehicles, pre-2018.