Acura, Kia and Volvo Best, BMW Sedan Worst in Latest IIHS Crash Test

DETROIT (AP) -- The 2008 BMW 5 Series was the worst performer in new side-impact crash tests of luxury sedans by the insurance industry.

The Acura RL, Kia Amanti and Volvo S80 all earned the highest safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, according to results released Thursday. The Cadillac STS and Mercedes E-Class earned the second-highest rating.

The tests were designed to show what would happen if a truck or sport utility vehicle hit the side of the sedan at 31 mph, the speed of a serious crash. Side-impact crashes are the most common type of fatal crash after a frontal crash, killing around 9,000 people on U.S. roadways in 2005, the institute said.

"Growing sales of SUVs and pickups have exacerbated height mismatches among passenger vehicles, thereby increasing the risks to occupants of many vehicles struck in the side," Insurance Institute President Adrian Lund said in a news release.

All six sedans were equipped with standard side air bags. The air bags in the BMW 5 Series protected the head, but separate air bags designed to protect the chest and abdomen performed poorly, the institute said.

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IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 12:53:41 PM

-3 Boost

here is how the Audi A6 did

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=557

the A4 did

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=558

A3

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=587

A4 cab

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=779

S4cabriofoxone - 8/17/2007 2:10:53 AM

+1 Boost

Why does he get de-boosted for posting factual information?

hieneken - 8/16/2007 11:33:12 AM

+5 Boost

You are an idiot

SenSpeed - 8/16/2007 12:13:10 PM

+4 Boost

and "wearing" your BMW is. fanboiiiii.

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 12:26:18 PM

+7 Boost

most people that buy a 5 series have a family and kids. All a dad or mom have to do is thik " my baby would be alive today if I wouldn't have bought a BMW" and that will affect sales.

Believe me this will be an article that is passed out when people are shoping other makes also\

SenSpeed - 8/16/2007 1:42:58 PM

+5 Boost

ya...who needs an arm or an leg when they have their BMW? arms and legs are sooo overrated.

Kinger - 8/16/2007 11:11:49 AM

+6 Boost

I bet they're regretting not fitting those protective side-strips now...

BimmerFan - 8/16/2007 11:30:07 AM

+2 Boost

Ennoraks(?) thoughts exactly, Im sure! LOL!

Onyx - 8/16/2007 11:40:25 AM

+4 Boost

OH NOES!!!! You mean BMW is fallible after all. I can't wait for the BMW fanboys to spin this one.

1970toyotamarc - 8/16/2007 11:55:28 AM

+2 Boost

So now the 5 is ugly, over priced and unsafe. That's okay, as long as it still has soul and magic feel.

david989 - 8/16/2007 12:35:15 PM

-1 Boost

Lexus rules so much. BMWs are unsafe. All they have is magic feel which is in the minds of stupid BMW fanboys. The Lexus GS is bigger inside, handles better, is safer and has a nicer interior too and costs so much less.

enthusiastx11 - 8/16/2007 2:30:31 PM

-3 Boost

yeah...i'd rather drive a camry/lexus. please.

r15mohd - 8/16/2007 11:56:31 AM

+5 Boost

LOL @ mclaren. well as much as you may not consider the safety of the vehicle, BMW does. if you read the article they say that because of the position of the seat, etc. thats why it failed. a VERY POOR EXCUSE by my standards from such a big company.

i'm surprised to see the Korean comanies so high, they are really gaining ground everytime they are rated. it wont be long before one of them topple another motor corp. and we're already seeing that with the upcoming rwd coupe from hyundai.

and for what its worth...first and foremost in any car development should be safety, and its one of the main reasons i LOVE volvo. they put important statistics first, then build around that.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/16/2007 12:29:06 PM

+2 Boost

Volvos aren't really the stand-out safe cars they were a decade ago. Today, Volvo, Audi, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz all pay about the same attention to safety.

david989 - 8/16/2007 12:36:49 PM

-5 Boost

Lexus leads the safety field. The Germans and Americans are playing catch up.

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 1:29:47 PM

0 Boost

no one believes that

Audi has never had lower then 4 out of 5 stars

they were doing crash test almost 100 yeas ago

MB- has designed several safty features

Where does Lexus lead? you sound like Al Gore " I envented the internet"

BMW4me4ever - 8/16/2007 3:02:02 PM

-3 Boost

psst news flash .. BMW has always stressed their Active Safety above and beyond the Passive Safety. BMW's goal is not to become the safest when just sitting there allowing a side impact collision. BMW makes their cars to safety standards for the passive part. Active safety and helping people find ways to avoid an accident are the most important things to them. The odds of a car taking it in the side at a stand still is very slim. Now what would happen if that same car was driving at 50 mph and had to emergency brake stopping them in front of the traffic light. Same scenario in a Lexus or Volvo which takes on average 10 ft longer to stop than a BMW. That is more of a problem, wouldnt you agree?

BMW4me4ever - 8/16/2007 3:02:48 PM

-4 Boost

SupraNeverBack - 8/16/2007 12:22:26 PM

+3 Boost

My own quote: "Don't worry. The badge offers extra protection" ^0^

r_driver04 - 8/16/2007 12:24:03 PM

-2 Boost

mclarensmps:"nothing wrong with volvo either, i love the way their cars look, but when we looked at bmw, volvo and audi (40k canadian cars), we took the audi... hmmm..."

Isn't Audi ranked high for safety as well? So in other words safety is pretty important to you as well as performance. If you think about performance in terms of "active safety" than the european autos will usually come out on top.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/17/2007 2:12:16 AM

+1 Boost

But it just so happens that your car is also very safe... did you completely disregard that and you DON'T want it to be safe, or are you "okay" with it?

Will_ - 8/16/2007 12:27:59 PM

+5 Boost

I have to say that safety is not my first priority in an automobile either. Ideally, it should be for everyone, but realistically, it's not. If we were all smart enough to only buy the safest vehicles, we'd all be driving Volvos.

But yeah, the big spin on this story is that BMW isn't the "best" in all categories all the time, contrary to fanyboyism. Don't attack someone for not wanting a 5-Series because of this, because in actuality, there are people who DO put safety at the top of their criteria. Think of all the 5-Series touring sales BMW lost to middle-class families with children...

S4cabriofoxone - 8/16/2007 12:30:35 PM

-1 Boost

We'd actually all be driving Benzes and Audis if we wanted the safest cars. There would be a few Volvos in the mix, but lately, Audi has garnered all the safety awards, and Mercedes-Benz employs/creates the latest safety technology.

david989 - 8/16/2007 12:39:29 PM

-7 Boost

S4Cabrio that is BS. Audi and Mercedes always have copied from Lexus day one. Lexus invented Pre-Safe and all Mercedes did was take it and claim they invented it. Lexus invented hybrids, now the Germans are copying it. Shut up already.

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 1:34:58 PM

+2 Boost

david

when did Lexus invent hybrids? and what does that do with safty?

Because they invented the term "Presafe" and got a copyright on it dosen't have anything to do with tech and inventing

MB and Audi have invented about every safty feature in cars today

MB is probably the leader

go look in your grandpa's new lexus and look for the Airbags, ESP button, seatbelts. Look for the independent suspention, the disk breaks, crumple zones, the heads up design and let me know what safty item Lexus invented?

Still waiting...

530N52 - 8/16/2007 12:44:29 PM

+5 Boost

It is good to see that less expensive cars are safe. If BMW performs twelve tests then they should add this one to the list and address any issues. It would be better for the customer and could be cheaper than overcoming the bad press. The E60 5-Series received four of five stars in Euro testing, but torso protection scored "Adequate".

http://www.euroncap.com/tests/bmw_5_series_2004/208.aspx

IIHS rated side impact results as "Marginal".

I wonder if this is related to the new ergonomic door that was introduced at in the 08 refresh?

enthusiastx11 - 8/16/2007 1:03:59 PM

-1 Boost

one car, one crash test.
not aggregate data from real world driving.

enthusiastx11 - 8/16/2007 1:07:28 PM

0 Boost

if safety were a real-world issue for a car it would show up in insurance claim data.

with 100 equal to average claim size, luxury cars average 129 for insurance claim size (i.e. 29% higher than average). the bmw 5-series averaged 89 (i.e. 11% lower than average).

see link to national highway safety...

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.bead436724af02e770f6df1020008a0c/?javax.portlet.tpst=4427b997caacf504a8bdba101891ef9a_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_4427b997caacf504a8bdba101891ef9a_viewID=detail_view&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&itemID=48ecf12429831110VgnVCM1000002c567798RCRD&viewType=standard

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 1:37:46 PM

+2 Boost

ture that has more to do with the type of drivers not the safty

not that many 80 year old men and 16 year old kids drive the 5 series

the better look is injurys per crash over 30mph

is there a test out there? if so someone post it

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 9:25:32 PM

+3 Boost

ture= true

dwatson - 8/16/2007 1:23:00 PM

+4 Boost

Whoa! This is crazy.

I am a BMW fanboy but this is horrendous for them.If i were competitor I would exploit the hell out of this. Their PR team must be soiling themselves.

I hope other models aren't affected by this flaw. It could have something to do with the new armrest on the door. I could see how it could get you right in the side.

I wonder if the 3 series is affected? It has the same sort of armrest as the restyled 5.

dwatson - 8/16/2007 1:26:43 PM

+2 Boost

BTW, If i want a really safe car I'll buy a 90's W140 S500 Mercedes. I'd love to run over a couple of hyundai's with one of those. What a tank.

IamEvilHomer - 8/16/2007 1:39:06 PM

+3 Boost

yes no matter what people do the big cars are the safest

put me in an A8 over a A3 anyday in a big crash

Designer1 - 8/16/2007 3:07:45 PM

+5 Boost

I remember when the RL before wasn't even tested cause it was really bad and didn't want to show that to the public, but good for them for making it good this time, even though the design sucks.

As for the BMW and MB, the medium size has always been behind, the small class 3 and C has always been better, which doesn't make sense as why.

That's yet another reason I've given up on German cars looong time ago.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/17/2007 2:15:49 AM

+2 Boost

I don't think you would've posted it- just throwing that out there.

I know I wouldn't have posted an article saying the Amanti was safer than the A6. But I'm safe (no pun intended) in my knowledge that the A6 is one of the safest mid-sized sedans on the road.

Yonder7 - 8/16/2007 7:46:21 PM

+2 Boost

I Like Bimmers too, but even the Coupe was taged as Marginal in the side crash test.

Htay7500 - 8/17/2007 7:42:08 AM

+2 Boost

gimme a volvo and call it a day.

M53R - 8/17/2007 9:53:38 AM

+1 Boost

Yes I know BMWs arent as hard as they used to be, but now they have many more systems to avoid the accident from happening from the 1st place.

And when Im usually shopping for a car, I dont really look at the safety statistics. Im not saying safety isnt important for me, but its not my deciding factor.

M53R - 8/18/2007 9:57:41 AM

+1 Boost

Yes I know, they need to fix that problem in the new generation.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/18/2007 4:22:58 PM

+1 Boost

It's the structure, not the systems. Self-tightening seat belts won't save you when the 5 Series crumples upside-down.