BMW iX awarded five-star ANCAP safety rating

The all-electric BMW iX medium size SUV which is due to launch in New Zealand soon has been awarded a five-start ANCAP safety rating under the latest and more stringent 2020-2022 test protocols.

ANCAP Safety says the electric BMW iX scored highly across the range of occupant protection and collision avoidance assessment areas.

It also achieved good results in the side impact test and more severe oblique pole test, and in the AEB car-to-car and vulnerable road user scenarios, with collisions avoided or mitigated in almost all scenarios across a range of speeds.

The iX did however present a higher risk to the occupants of an oncoming vehicle in the frontal offset (MPDB) test, and the maximum penalty was applied.  

It also performed well in the far side impact tests, with full points awarded for the prevention of excursion (movement towards the other side of the vehicle) in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pole scenarios. In the assessment of Child Occupant Protection, the BMW iX scored full points in both the MPDB and side impact tests. 

“ANCAP has now rated 19 fully-electric vehicles, and the BMW iX is the second fully-electric vehicle in the Medium SUV segment to be tested under ANCAP’s 2020-2022 protocols, our most stringent criteria to date,” ANCAP Safety chief executive Carla Hoorweg says

“BMW have again placed safety as a high priority in their vehicle design and specifications, and the iX results show BMW aren’t willing to compromise on safety for an alternative-powered vehicle,” she says. 

The BMW iX is  fitted with an active bonnet, designed to lift the bonnet to provide greater clearance from stiff components in the engine bay if a pedestrian is struck. However, protection offered to the pelvis of a pedestrian was poor.