For enhanced safety, the front and rear (child comfort guides) seat shoulder belts of the Buick Encore are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
Both the Encore and the X3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, collision warning systems, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the BMW X3:
|
Encore |
X3 |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Compression |
12 lbs. |
64 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.3 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
38% |
38% |
Neck Stress |
122 lbs. |
139 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Buick Encore is safer than the BMW X3:
|
Encore |
X3 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
120 G’s |
153 G’s |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
100 |
133 |
Spine Acceleration |
33 G’s |
45 G’s |
Hip Force |
672 lbs. |
794 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.