The X5 M’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
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 X5 M are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The X5 M has standard Active Head Restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Active Head Restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The X5 M has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The X5 M has a standard Active Park Distance Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The X5 M offers an optional Surround View to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio 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.
Both the X5 M and Stelvio Quadrifoglio have rear cross-traffic warning, but the X5 M has Cross Traffic Warning with Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio’s Rear Cross-Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the X5 M and the Stelvio Quadrifoglio 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, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.
The BMW X5 M weighs 1147 pounds more than the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The BMW X5 M achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Stelvio Quadrifoglio has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.