Since its launch in 1999, the BMW X5 has been setting the standard for luxury SUVs, with good looks, Ultimate Driving Machine handling and engineering and safety. Paying attention to safety has earned the 2025 BMW X5 the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety Pick+ award – the highest possible..

The IIHS has been conducting crash tests and evaluating safety on vehicles since 1995, and its annual safety awards have prompted manufacturers to consistently up their game in order to qualify. The auto industry understands that consumers don’t just want styling vehicles; safety is an important factor in their desirability. 

So, the IIHS keeps raising its standards, and 2025 is no different. While last year at this time 71 new vehicles had qualified for one of the two awards – Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ - this year only 48 have made the cut. 

“We’re once again challenging automakers to make their new models even safer than those they were building a year ago,” IIHS President David Harkey said. “Every vehicle that earns a 2025 award offers a high level of safety in both the front seat and the second row.”

The two awards are Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+. Winning a Top Safety Pick+ requires that a vehicle must receive:

 

• A Good rating on the moderate overlap front crash test
• A Good Rating in the small overlap front test 
• A Good Rating in the updated side test (tougher this year!)
• An Acceptable or good on standard headlights 
• An Acceptable or good in pedestrian test

The Top Safety Pick designation requires just an Acceptable rating on the moderate overlap front crash test. 

The BMW X5 consistently ranks among the best midsized luxury SUVs – Car and Driver gives it a 9.5 out of 10 – and adding a Top Safety Pick+ award to its portfolio of other superb attributes just makes it an even more attractive option.