The XM’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Durango SRT 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 XM are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Durango SRT 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 Durango SRT doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The XM 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 Durango SRT 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 XM 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 Durango SRT doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the XM’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Durango SRT doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
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 Durango SRT.
The XM has a standard Surround View to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Durango SRT 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 XM and Durango SRT have rear cross-traffic warning, but the XM has Cross Traffic Warning with braking function (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Durango SRT’s Rear Cross Path Detection doesn’t automatically brake.
The XM’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Durango SRT doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the XM and the Durango SRT 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, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.
The BMW XM weighs 519 to 716 pounds more than the Dodge Durango SRT. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.