When you think of the safest cars on the road, European luxury sedans tend to come to mind first – Mercedes and Volvos especially. But what about BMWs?



As it turns out, the last 5 Series wasn’t such a safe car. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the previous F10-generation model “didn’t hold up well during the small overlap test.”

Fortunately the new mid-size luxury sedan from Bavaria has past the IIHS tests with flying colors. With “cross-the-board good crashworthiness, an optional front crash prevention system with a superior rating, and available good-rated headlights,” the new 5 Series has earned a Top Safety Pick + award – the highest rating that the organization bestows.

The new 5 isn’t the only model in BMW’s lineup to earn the distinction, either. Both the 2 Series and 3 Series earned the “plus” rating, while the X1 got the next-best Top Safety Pick award (as did the Mini Cooper). The only other midsize luxury sedan (which the IIHS groups together with larger ones) to earn the plus rating is the Genesis G80. The Audi A6, Infiniti Q70, and Volvo S90 (somewhat surprisingly) all earned Top Safety Pick awards (sans the “plus”), with the Mercedes E-Class even more surprisingly having missed out altogether.

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