The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) has awarded the new BMW iX a perfect five-star safety rating, following recent crash tests and vehicle function assessments. It was found to offer a high level of hardware to protect occupants, as well as some of the smartest active safety systems on the market.
In terms of adult occupant protection, BMW’s new interactive airbag design fitted between the driver and front passenger seat was found to offer additional protection from injuries in side collisions, while receiving a high score for side impact offset impact.
The iX also features a front collision avoidance system that can hit the brakes when a pedestrian or cyclist is deemed at risk that now reacts while the iX is turning at intersections and while moving out of a park.
In the interest of protecting road users in the event of a collision, the iX features some more forgiving, flexible body structures and an active bonnet that creates a deformation zone to prevent harsh, direct impacts with the hardware underneath. Head of vehicle safety at BMW, Dominik Schuster, said:
“The extremely stable body structure and the extended range of restraint systems ensure an outstanding level of occupant protection. In addition, the BMW iX scores highly in both the test programmes and in everyday driving with innovative driver assistance systems that significantly reduce the risk of accidents in a wide array of situations.”
The BMW iX range goes on sale in Australia priced from $135,900 for the base xDrive40 variant, stretching out to $169,900 for the range-topping xDrive50 (excluding on-road costs). See the video below for more on how it performed.
