The BMW X3 was rated a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It achieved the highest rating in all categories, which includes front, side, rollover, and rear tests. To achieve this rating a vehicle must also offer standard electronic stability control.
The IIHS classifies the X3 as a midsize luxury SUV. Other top picks in this category are the Acura MDX, Audi Q5, Cadillac SRX, Infiniti EX35, Lexus RX, Lincoln MKT, Lincoln MKX, Mercedes GLK, Mercedes M-Class, Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC90.
It's a pretty safe segment. Do you own any cars on this list?
Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor
firstwagon says:
09:20 AM, 02/ 4/12
No
lucien4 says:
09:51 AM, 02/ 4/12
Yes, mainly for the need of AWD. Won't need that anymore so plan to downsize when I replace it...
I wouldn't classify these in the same group and split it rather:
- X3,Q5,XC60,RDX,GLK , ...
- X5,Q7,XC90,MDX,M, ...
We might see a smaller SUV class one day: X1, Q3, ...
ed124c says:
10:10 AM, 02/ 4/12
I wonder why the Outback is never in these lists as an SUV. I think it also is a top pick, but I think they keep classing it as a stationwagon.
The Outback is just as big and clumsy as any of the SUVs.
cardrvr says:
10:21 AM, 02/ 4/12
All of our current cars are rated "good" or "5 star" (depending on testing agency), and that is good enough. Seriously, which modern cars (not made by a Chinese brand) aren't rated safe enough nowadays??? Also, I don't really care about all these "ratings" because I know none of them will matter if you hit (or "dive under") the 18-wheeler or a concrete bridge support at 100mph or higher, so I simply try to prevent such situations by not trying to reenact "Fast & Furious" movies on public roads.
adantium says:
01:27 PM, 02/ 4/12
I own an EX35 I don't plan on crashing it. Hopefully will never find out how safe it is.
tifighter says:
01:39 PM, 02/ 4/12
RDX. Not too popular these days, but it will boogie down a back road. Still surprises me.
blueguydotcom says:
03:56 PM, 02/ 4/12
Never checked. Don't care.
gslippy says:
09:10 PM, 02/ 4/12
No, and I never will. Each one of them is an overpriced depreciation dog.
rollk says:
12:04 AM, 02/ 5/12
The XC90 is going on 10 years now... pretty amazing it's still one of the safest cars on the road
lucien4 says:
08:15 AM, 02/ 5/12
"@gslippy No, and I never will. Each one of them is an overpriced depreciation dog."
Looking at Edmunds TCO residual values after 5 years:
RX: 50%
MDX/MKT: 43%
X3 41%
...
Not different than other luxury cars. Of course adding 10K in options is not great for depreciation. And sure buying a non-luxury vehicle will save you more.
davisdvm says:
09:41 PM, 02/ 5/12
I have owned a 2011 GLK for about 9 months. It's based on the C class chassis and it is nimble and fun to drive, a really convenient size and overall my wife and I are very pleased. I am an enthusiast driver and find the motor to have a great sound and plenty of power. Gas mileage is a bit disappointing at around 18 overall, and wind noise at speeds above 75 is an irritation. We've got about 20k miles on the car and no problems. I can easily recommend the car for couples, I think access to the rear seat would be a bit of a hassle with car seats and kid stuff. If you read the roof crush strength data you'll see the GLK and M class vehicles have the highest scores, above even the Volvo. The car appears to be very well engineered with a very high quality interior. Voice control and bluetooth work great although tranferring a phone book address is a pain.
esoterica says:
04:45 PM, 02/ 6/12
"wind noise at speeds above 75 is an irritation"
You don't think that's a huge problem in a $45K vehicle? For me that would have been a total non-starter in an era where a $22K Chevy Malibu is vault-quiet.
milt721 says:
01:32 PM, 02/ 7/12
All 2012 cars have stability control.