For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC60 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW X5 xDrive45e doesn’t offer pretensioners for its second-row seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Volvo XC60 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 X5 xDrive45e doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
Both the XC60 and X5 xDrive45e have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The XC60 Plus/Ultimate/Polestar has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The X5 xDrive45e’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Volvo XC60 offers optional built in child booster seats. They’re more crash worthy than an added child seat because of their direct attachment to the seat. BMW doesn’t offer the convenience and security of a built-in child booster seat in the X5 xDrive45e. Their owners must carry a heavy booster seat in and out of the vehicle; XC60 owners can just fold their built-in child seat up or down.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the XC60 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The XC60’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The X5 xDrive45e’s side airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
Both the XC60 and the X5 xDrive45e have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Volvo XC60 is safer than the BMW X5 xDrive45e:
|
XC60 |
X5 xDrive45e |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
125 |
209 |
Neck Injury Risk |
22% |
34% |
Neck Stress |
198 lbs. |
308 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
15 lbs. |
112 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
489/470 lbs. |
636/584 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
178 |
342 |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
28% |
35% |
Neck Stress |
179 lbs. |
220 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
55 lbs. |
91 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
329/351 lbs. |
527/418 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 Volvo XC60 is safer than the BMW X5 xDrive45e:
|
XC60 |
X5 xDrive45e |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
126 lbs. |
130 lbs. |
Hip Force |
190 lbs. |
279 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
14 inches |
HIC |
237 |
308 |
Spine Acceleration |
29 G’s |
44 G’s |
Hip Force |
410 lbs. |
796 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 “Acceptable” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the XC60 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 112 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The X5 xDrive45e is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2022.