2018 BMW i3
small car / 4-door hatchback
Small overlap front: driver-side
Tested vehicle: 2017 BMW i3 4-door
Rating applies to 2017-21 models
The BMW i3 was introduced in the 2014 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with an optional 2-cylinder gasoline engine "range extender" to assist in charging the battery. The EPA city and highway values listed below are based on a comparison of the energy content of a kWh of electricity vs. a gallon of gasoline. The battery capacity and weight of the car were increased beginning with the 2017 model year.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| 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 driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEN1627 |
| Lower occupant compartment | |
| Lower hinge pillar max (cm) | 7 |
| Footrest (cm) | 2 |
| Left toepan (cm) | 2 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 3 |
| Parking brake (cm) | |
| Rocker panel lateral average (cm) | 2 |
| Upper occupant compartment | |
| Steering column | 0 |
| Upper hinge pillar max (cm) | 3 |
| Upper dash (cm) | 4 |
| Lower instrument panel (cm) | 3 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEN1627 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 47 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | no contact |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.6 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 9 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.15 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 27 |
| Femur (kN) | |
| Left | 1.0 |
| Right | 0.4 |
| Knee displacement (mm) | |
| Left | 2 |
| Right | 1 |
| Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%) | |
| Left | 0 |
| Right | 0 |
| Maximum tibia index | |
| Left | 0.77 |
| Right | 0.24 |
| Tibia axial force (kN) | |
| Left | 3.6 |
| Right | 1.2 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 49 |
| Right | 100 |
Moderate overlap front: original test
Tested vehicle: 2017 BMW i3 4-door
Rating applies to 2017-21 models
The BMW i3 was introduced in the 2014 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with an optional 2-cylinder gasoline engine "range extender" to assist in charging the battery. The EPA city and highway values listed below are based on a comparison of the energy content of a kWh of electricity vs. a gallon of gasoline. The battery capacity and weight of the car were increased beginning with the 2017 model year.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| 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
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEF1610 |
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 1 |
| Left (cm) | 1 |
| Center (cm) | 2 |
| Right (cm) | 1 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 3 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 0 |
| Right (cm) | 0 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | -2 |
| Rearward (cm) | -7 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 0 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CEF1610 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 209 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | no contact |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.9 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 13 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.23 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 34 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 0.4 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 0.9 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 2 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 3 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 0.27 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 0.42 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 2.1 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 2.2 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 72 |
| Right | 64 |
Side: original test
Tested vehicle: 2017 BMW i3 4-door
Rating applies to 2017-21 models
The BMW i3 was introduced in the 2014 model year. The car is a plug-in battery-electric vehicle with an optional 2-cylinder gasoline engine "range extender" to assist in charging the battery. The EPA city and highway values listed below are based on a comparison of the energy content of a kWh of electricity vs. a gallon of gasoline. The battery capacity and weight of the car were increased beginning with the 2017 model year.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| 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 | |
Technical measurements for this test
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Test ID | CES1614 |
|---|---|
| B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) | -16.0 |
| Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline. | |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CES1614 |
| Head HIC-15 | 264 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.7 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.2 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 24 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.2 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 36 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 32 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 4.31 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.53 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 1.4 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 2.6 |
| Combined force (kN) | 4.0 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 1.3 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 105 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 22 |
Passenger injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CES1614 |
| Head HIC-15 | 319 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 0.4 |
| Compression (kN) | 0.4 |
| Shoulder | |
| Lateral deflection (mm) | 45 |
| Lateral force (kN) | 1.8 |
| Torso | |
| Maximum deflection (mm) | 39 |
| Average deflection (mm) | 24 |
| Maximum deflection rate (m/s) | 3.74 |
| Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) | 0.78 |
| Pelvis | |
| Iliac force (kN) | 2.8 |
| Acetabulum force (kN) | 1.7 |
| Combined force (kN) | 4.2 |
| Left femur | |
| L-M force (kN) | 0.9 |
| L-M moment (Nm) | 102 |
| A-P moment (Nm) | 54 |
Roof strength
Tested vehicle: 2017 BMW i3 4-door
Rating applies to 2017-21 models
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Curb weight | 2,920 lbs |
| Peak force | 13,772 lbs |
| Strength-to-weight ratio | 4.72 |
Head restraints & seats
Seat type: Manual cloth seat
| Overall evaluation | |
|---|---|
| Dynamic rating | |
| Seat/head restraint geometry |
Technical measurements for this test
| Seat type | Manual cloth seat |
|---|---|
| Geometry | |
| Backset (mm) | 15 |
| Distance below top of head (mm) | -4 |
| Seat design parameters | |
| Pass/fail | Fail |
| Max T1 acceleration (g) | 13.3 |
| Head contact time (ms) | 76 |
| Force rating | 1 |
| Neck forces | |
| Max neck shear force (N) | 5 |
| Max neck tension (N) | 561 |
About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Child seat anchors
Rating applies to 2017-21 models
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Vehicle trim | base |
| Seat type | cloth |
This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.
| Rating icon | Rating |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s) | |
| No hardware available |
Details by seating position
| Position | Rating |
|---|---|
| 1 | |
| Tether anchor | |
| easy-to-find location | |
| other hardware could be confused for anchor | |
| Lower anchors | |
| not too deep in seat | |
| not too much force needed to attach | |
| difficult to maneuver around anchors | |
| 3 | |
| Tether anchor | |
| easy-to-find location | |
| other hardware could be confused for anchor | |
| Lower anchors | |
| not too deep in seat | |
| not too much force needed to attach | |
| difficult to maneuver around anchors |
Technical measurements for this test
Seat position 21
| Lower anchor A | |
|---|---|
| Open access rated | Yes |
| Depth | Visible |
| Force (lbs) | 0 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 46 |
| Lower anchor B | |
| Open access rated | Yes |
| Depth | Visible |
| Force (lbs) | 0 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 46 |
| Tether anchor | |
| Location | Middle seatback |
| Confusing hardware present | Yes |
| Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor |
No |
| Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH |
Not measured |
Seat position 23
| Lower anchor A | |
|---|---|
| Open access rated | Yes |
| Depth | Visible |
| Force (lbs) | 0 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 44 |
| Lower anchor B | |
| Open access rated | Yes |
| Depth | Visible |
| Force (lbs) | 0 |
| Clearance angle (degrees) | 46 |
| Tether anchor | |
| Location | Middle seatback |
| Confusing hardware present | Yes |
| Has contrasting label within 3 inches of tether anchor |
No |
| Tether anchors can be accessed while seatback is properly positioned for use of LATCH |
Not measured |