New Tesla Model 3 Highland Gets An Active Bonnet For Pedestrian Protection

The Tesla Model 3 was revamped recently, and the electric offering received notable changes including revised styling, an upmarket cabin and premium features. It now seems Tesla also made improvements to the safety department of its most affordable electric sedan. While it may not have been advertised as much, the new features are coming to light. The updated Tesla Model 3 now gets the “Active Hood” safety feature that aims to reduce pedestrian injuries in the event of a collision. The feature was previously only offered on the Tesla Model S and Model X. 

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The new passive safety feature was first spotted by Tesla enthusiast @tesla_adri (on X, formerly Twitter), who shared the information. The X user recently took delivery of his Model 3 Highland and discovered the safety feature in the owner’s manual. As per the document, the Active Hood feature raises the rear part of the bonnet by about 80 mm if the car detects an impact with a pedestrian at a speed between 30-52 km. By doing so, the raised bonnet will act as a metallic cushion for the pedestrian’s head, reducing the injuries by a decent margin. 

The user manual further says that if the Active Hood feature has been deployed, the touchscreen display will show an alert and chime sounds, and the Model 3 will have to be taken to the Tesla service centre to get the bonnet back into place. The safety feature was only available on the more expensive Tesla electric cars and in select markets. However, it now seems the American EV maker is rolling out the safety feature to all markets and more vehicles across its range. 

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Apart from the new Active Hood feature, the new Tesla Model 3 Highland also gets metal hooks on the lower section of the door to keep them aligned in the event of a crash. Tesla has also added a “Driver Drowsiness Warning”, which will detect the driver’s face using a camera facing the cabin for yawns or blinks. It will issue a warning on the touchscreen unit as well as a sound alert, should it detect the same. Do note that Mercedes-Benz, among other manufacturers, already offer the Attention Assist feature that works in a similar fashion. 

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