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 Levante 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 Levante doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The BMW X5 M 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 Levante doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 Levante 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 Levante doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The X5 M’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 Levante.
Both the X5 M and Levante 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 Levante’s Rear Cross Path doesn’t automatically brake.
The X5 M’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 Levante doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the X5 M and the Levante have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact 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, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
The BMW X5 M weighs 428 to 504 pounds more than the Maserati Levante. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.
The BMW X5 M has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Levante has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.