For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Toyota Prius 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 330e doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Prius are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The 330e doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Prius’ standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the 330e.
Both the Prius and the 330e have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive, 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 Toyota Prius is safer than the BMW 330e:
|
Prius |
330e |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
246 |
252 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
31% |
33% |
Neck Compression |
42 lbs. |
74 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
100/151 lbs. |
200/338 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Prius is safer than the BMW 330e:
|
Prius |
330e |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Movement |
.8 inches |
.8 inches |
Abdominal Force |
134 G’s |
179 G’s |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
249 |
305 |
Spine Acceleration |
45 G’s |
47 G’s |
Hip Force |
463 lbs. |
532 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
13 inches |
HIC |
267 |
270 |
Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
39 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.