2017 BMW i3 Vs 2016 Tesla Model S - Crash Test

IIHS: Tesla Model S, BMW i3 fall short in recent crash tests

The Chevy Volt and Toyota Prius Prime are still the safest plug-in picks.

To be an IIHS Top Safety Pick, cars must achieve a "good" rating in the five crash tests, and have an "advanced" or "superior" available front crash prevention system. Having headlights rated "good" or "acceptable" give it the "plus" rating. While plug-in vehicles like the Toyota Prius Prime and the Chevrolet Volt have earned the IIHS 2017 Top Safety Pick+ award, the recently evaluated Tesla Model S and the BMW i3 come up short.

In the small overlap front crash test, the Tesla's safety belt didn't prevent the dummy's head from hitting the steering wheel through the airbag. The IIHS also noted a possible leg injury in that test. Tesla said it would fix this issue in cars produced beginning January 26, so now its IIHS' turn to smash the car up again to see if its rating improves.

Interestingly, the P100D variant only earns an "acceptable" rating in the rollover test. The roof strength is no different from the rest of the Model S lineup, which are rated "good," but the weight of its big battery puts more stress on the structure while shiny-side-down. Finally, its headlights get a "poor" rating from the IIHS.

The BMW i3's biggest shortcoming is in its head restraints. In a rear-end collision, it only gets an "acceptable" rating, which puts occupants at a greater risk of a neck injury. The IIHS laments that the i3 is the only vehicle in the small car category that doesn't get a "good" rating in this test. The i3's headlights also miss the mark, as the only option gets an "acceptable" rating.

"There's no reason that the most efficient vehicles can't be among the safest," says David Zuby, IIHS chief research officer. If you're wondering about the Chevrolet Bolt, the IIHS says it'll obliterate examples of it in the name of safety later this year.

"small, moderate overlap IIHS crash test 2016"

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[MED-CARS]

Constance - The Descent - Kevin MacLeod

[LexaMofo]

Really? no one noticed the poor insect flying on 2:30 ??

[ToastedFanArt]

Why do so many people keep pointing out it's the model without the auto pilot? It doesn't really matter during a *crash* test...

[Qwertworks]

I still find it impressive how fast the airbags deploy!

[WiseWik]

BM was like: "Fuck your small overlap, here's a door and a wheel. I'm gone!"

[TheOneWhoMightBe]

The engineering that goes into modern cars is nothing short of amazing. A high-five to all the engineers.

[SerhanOgan]

How did you convince the car to hit the barrier in the first place? Lol.

[markusgapel]

02:14 That must be painfull for a rear seat passenger in a Tesla. You see the red coulour on the side roof?

[zezizarjaars]

Didn't expect the BMW to be more safe

[alviyunitasari]

0:43 BMW i3: "Oh we crashed? Lets just keep going."

[Teboski]

Of course the BMW did well in the first test. It didn't even cancel out all of it's velocity with the collision. It skidded off and had its door peal off in the process before continuing to move forward.

[cameronbyers]

Did nobody mention that they jacked up the ratings for safety? I would also like to mention that after this crash tests, Tesla took the negative feedback and made it so that their cars would still remain at a 5 star safety rating in every category, including sub categories.

[satoau]

so just claim the other two cars are better without showing their crash tests?
also why is auto-braking assumed to be safe? i have it on my car and it's extremely dangerous, often braking in situations it has mis-understood to be dangerous (sharp bends and lane-changing of both my car and others into my lane, for example) and put my car and its occupants in harm's way.

[khalil]

I love how the moment of impact the BMW kept cruising down the road! Meanwhile the Tesla stopped instantly

[adamfink]

I think the whiplash issue and the headlight issue was fixed by Tesla.

[anthonytromp]

How can a company like BMW make such a terrible looking car.

[Padillajuan]

The i3s body is pretty much all carbon fiber mates

[placerdemaio]

This is not 2017 tesla cars, it doesnt have the auto pilot 2.0, this whole video is 2016.

[BloodBlight]

I feel the comment about the advanced safety system being an addon is very misleading... The feature is not available on the newer Teslas as the software is not ready (being released this week). All cars ship with the hardware and will have the features even if you don't order the auto pilot feature. Also, the older autopilot cars (AP1) do have this feature and they recently revealed that on its software release for those cars accidents involving the air bags dropped by 40%.

[heinerda]

2:15 The airbags on the back seats are to small!!! The head miss the airbag and hits against the paneling and the hard frame structure. Really bad 👎😖