For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Lexus NX 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 X1 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Lexus NX 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 X1 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
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 NX are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The X1 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Lexus NX achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The BMW X1 has not been tested.
Both the NX and the X1 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, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Lexus NX is safer than the X1:
|
NX |
X1 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Peak Forces |
no contact |
48 G’s |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
67 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
.94 in |
Shoulder Force |
201 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.98 in |
1.1 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
4 MPH |
7 MPH |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Compression |
134 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Force |
223 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.1 in |
1.14 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
669 lbs. |
959 lbs. |
The Lexus NX achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2025 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated moderate overlap front crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The X1 has not yet been fully evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.