2019 BMW 3-Series Sedan Earns Highest IIHS Safety Rating

The 2019 model year sees a complete redesign for the BMW 3-Series. The sedan really is all new, featuring a more powerful engine, a new body, and more technology. When it comes to safety, the changes have made the 2019 3-Series safer than before.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) put the new 3-Series through all of its tests and BMW's midsize luxury sedan earned its highest rating, being named a Top Safety Pick Plus vehicle. To earn the rating, the 3-Series had to earn a rating of “Good” in all of the IIHS' crash tests, have a rating of at least “Advanced” for front crash prevention, and have headlights that earn a rating of “Good.” The 2019 3-Series meets all of these requirements – if you get the right trim.

Entry-level 330i sedans are fitted with LED projector headlights that were found to be “Poor,” which is the IIHS' worst score. With the static LED projector headlights, the 3-Series doesn't even qualify to be a Top Safety Pick. If you tick the box for the Convenience Package ($2,150), the 3-Series is fitted with curve-adaptive LED projector headlights that the IIHS found to be “Marginal,” which still isn't good enough for a Top Safety Pick award.

In order to get into a 3-Series that lines up with the IIHS' Top Safety Pick Plus award, you'll have to get the Executive Package ($2,100), which requires getting a leather upgrade ($1,450), the Convenience Package ($2,150), ambient lighting ($250), and the Premium Package ($2,800).

The Executive Package brings BMW's Laserlight technology and high-beam assist. Paying what essentially comes out to an extra $8,750 lands you into a 3-Series that earns a Top Safety Pick Plus rating. For reference, a base 330i starts at $41,245 (prices include destination), while a model that earns the IIHS' highest award costs $49,995.

Last year's 3-Series earned the IIHS' Top Safety Pick award, so the 2019 model is a step forward in terms of safety.

There aren't a lot of midsize luxury vehicles that have earned the IIHS' highest rating. The only other sedans in the segment include the 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, 2019 Lexus ES 350, and 2019 Genesis G70. All of those, as with the 3-Series, have to be fitted with specific headlights.

For the Genesis, the most affordable configuration to get the rating is the 2.0T Elite Package that costs $40,895. On the Mercedes-Benz C300, it's as simple as getting the $750 Adaptive Highbeam Assist package. With that option, the sedan costs $42,150.

Lastly, with the Lexus ES 350, consumers have to get the Premium Triple-Beam LED Headlamps that cost $1,515, but you are then required to get the Blind Spot Monitor With Rear Cross-Traffic Alert ($1,065) bundle, the Premium Package ($1,175), and wood trim ($360). Choosing all of the right options raises the price of the ES 350 to $44,740.

Out of all of the midsize luxury vehicles to earn the IIHS' Top Safety Pick Plus award, the 2019 3-Series it the most expensive. And choosing the right options to get into a sedan that fits the criteria is trickier than Mercedes' simple framework, but much less complicated than Lexus' mind-boggling package structure.

Learn more about the 3-Series »