Top Safety Pick + Top Safety Pick criteria

2018 BMW X3

midsize luxury SUV / 4-door SUV

Award applies only to vehicles with optional front crash prevention and specific headlights

2018 BMW X3 4-door SUV

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights (varies by trim/option)
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Standard daytime running lights
  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Optional lane departure warning

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2018-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i 4-door 4wd

The BMW X3 was redesigned for the 2018 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the driver-side small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

Intrusion into the driver's space was well controlled, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1801
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Footrest (cm) 4
Left toepan (cm) 5
Brake pedal (cm) 3
Parking brake (cm)
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 0
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Upper dash (cm) 1
Lower instrument panel (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1801
Head
HIC-15 118
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm) 9
Maximum Nij 0.19
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 0.1
Right 0.1
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 0
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.25
Right 0.23
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.2
Right 0.9
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 44
Right 82

How the driver-side small overlap front test is conducted

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2018-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 BMW X3 M40i 4-door 4wd

The BMW X3 was redesigned for the 2018 model year. Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by BMW as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1805
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Footrest (cm) 6
Right toepan (cm) 5
Center toepan (cm) 4
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 1
Upper dash (cm) 1
Right lower dash (cm) 1

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1805
Head
HIC-15 221
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 13
Maximum Nij 0.29
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Femur (kN)
Left 0.8
Right 0.4
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 5
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.44
Right 0.44
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.8
Right 2.4
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 83
Right 87

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1805
Head
HIC-15 167
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm) 20
Maximum Nij 0.28
Chest maximum compression (mm) 33
Femur (kN)
Left 0.3
Right 0.5
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 2
Right 2
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.36
Right 0.30
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 1.1
Right 1.8
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 42
Right 47

How the passenger-side small overlap front test is conducted

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2018-24 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i 4-door 4wd

The BMW X3 was redesigned for the 2018 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by BMW as part of frontal crash test verification.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1802
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2
Left (cm) 2
Center (cm) 2
Right (cm) 1
Brake pedal (cm) 0
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) -1
Right (cm) -1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -2
Rearward (cm) -6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 0

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1802
Head
HIC-15 212
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.0
Extension bending moment (Nm) 27
Maximum Nij 0.27
Chest maximum compression (mm) 33
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.4
Femur force - right (kN) 0.6
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 2
Maximum tibia index - left 0.37
Maximum tibia index - right 0.30
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 1.9
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 55
Right 54

How the moderate overlap front test is conducted

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2018-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i 4-door 4wd

The BMW X3 was redesigned for the 2018 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

View of the vehicle just after the crash test.

View of the vehicle after the crash with doors removed, showing the side airbags and damage to the occupant compartment.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the driver dummy's head was protected from being hit by hard structures by the side curtain airbag.

Smeared greasepaint shows where the rear passenger dummy’s head was protected by the side airbag.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CES1802
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -19.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID CES1802
Head HIC-15 72
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.9
Compression (kN) 0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 26
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 26
Average deflection (mm) 25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 3.24
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.29
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.8
Combined force (kN) 1.9
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.2
L-M moment (Nm) 46
A-P moment (Nm) -30

Passenger injury measures

Test ID CES1802
Head HIC-15 127
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.4
Compression (kN) 0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 5
Lateral force (kN) 0.6
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 13
Average deflection (mm) 12
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 1.89
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.13
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 1.0
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.5
Combined force (kN) 2.3
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.4
L-M moment (Nm) 60
A-P moment (Nm) -16

How the side crash test is conducted

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2018-23 models

Tested vehicle: 2018 BMW X3 xDrive30i 4-door 4wd

Overall evaluation
Curb weight 4,190 lbs
Peak force 18,799 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio 4.49

How the roof strength test is conducted

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Power leather seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 44
Distance below top of head (mm) 0
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 15.2
Head contact time (ms) 65
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 469

How the head restraint & seat test is conducted
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Ratings are given for 3 different headlight variations available on this vehicle.

Trim level(s)

  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Executive package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED reflector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good in all 4 tests.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on the gradual left curve.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Executive package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED reflector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-21 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 99.7 m None
Straightaway left edge 61.3 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 86.9 m None
250m radius left curve, right edge 67.1 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 71.1 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 62.2 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 165.1 m
Straightaway left edge 117.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 96.3 m
250m radius left curve, right edge 78.7 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 72.2 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 67.4 m

Trim level(s)

  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Convenience package
  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Premium package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the left side of the road and inadequate on the right side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves, fair on the sharp left curve and inadequate on the gradual left curve.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves and fair on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Convenience package
  • xDrive 30i trim equipped with Premium package
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? Yes
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-21 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 70.8 m 2.7%
Straightaway left edge 47.7 m 2.7%
250m radius right curve, right edge 72.8 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 46.7 m 3.0%
150m radius right curve, right edge 74.6 m None
150m radius left curve, right edge 46.0 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 161.5 m
Straightaway left edge 118.3 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 80.8 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 67.0 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 78.6 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 60.2 m

Trim level(s)

  • xDrive 30i trim
Low-beam headlight type LED reflector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination Some glare

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the left side of the road and inadequate on the right side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

The low beams created some glare.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was fair on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on the gradual right curve, fair on the sharp right curve and inadequate on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • xDrive 30i trim
Low-beam headlight type LED reflector
High-beam headlight type Halogen reflector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? No
Overall rating
Applies to 2018-19 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 76.8 m None
Straightaway left edge 48.0 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 72.8 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 47.0 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 59.1 m 30.0%
150m radius left curve, left edge 43.6 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 137.6 m
Straightaway left edge 112.0 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 77.4 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 57.8 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 59.7 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 48.1 m

How headlights are evaluated

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

Ratings are given for 2 different trim variations available on this vehicle.

System details

  • Optional Frontal Collision Warning with Extended Collision Mitigation

Package name

  • Optional Driving Assistance Plus

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018-19 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

System details

  • Optional Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation

Package name

  • Optional Driving Assistance Package

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2018 models

Superior
Superior
with optional equipment
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

How front crash prevention is evaluated

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2018-24 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim xDrive30i/xDrive28i
Seat type leather

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

It has 1 additional seating position with a tether anchor only.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trim xDrive30i/xDrive28i
Seat type leather
1 2 3
G Good
A Acceptable
M Marginal
P Poor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
difficult to maneuver around anchors
2
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
none available
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
difficult to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 35
Lower anchor B
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 2
Clearance angle (degrees) 33
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
Yes

Seat position 22

2

Lower anchor A
No lower latch for this seat position
Lower anchor B
No lower latch for this seat position
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
Yes

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated No
Depth (cm) 2-4
Force (lbs) 3
Clearance angle (degrees) 34
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Not visible
Force (lbs) 1
Clearance angle (degrees) 34
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present Yes
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor
Yes

How child seat anchors are evaluated