For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Hyundai Tucson 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 X1 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 Tucson are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The X1 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Automatic Emergency Braking in the Tucson as “Superior.” The X1 scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Tucson Limited has standard Reverse Collision-Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The X1 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Tucson Limited has a standard Around View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The X1 only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.
The Tucson’s blind spot warning system uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. The X1 doesn’t offer a system to reveal objects in the driver’s blind spots.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Tucson’s standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The X1 doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
Both the Tucson and the X1 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available all wheel drive.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Tucson is safer than the BMW X1:
|
Tucson |
X1 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
24% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
164 lbs. |
360 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
14 lbs. |
60 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
27/60 lbs. |
257/329 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.5 inches |
Neck Stress |
125 lbs. |
175 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
59 lbs. |
68 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
51/13 lbs. |
309/268 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 Hyundai Tucson is safer than the BMW X1:
|
Tucson |
X1 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
71 |
143 |
Hip Force |
440 lbs. |
486 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
37 |
193 |
Spine Acceleration |
59 G’s |
65 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
614 lbs. |
815 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Tucson its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 127 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X1 last would have qualified as only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.