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 XM are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The AMG GLE doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The BMW XM has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The AMG GLE doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The XM’s 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 AMG GLE.
Both the XM and the AMG GLE 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, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.
The BMW XM weighs 607 to 981 pounds more than the Mercedes AMG GLE. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.