BMWs New 3 Earns an IIHS Top Safety Pick
 

Great active and passive safety is simply a part of the brand.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - May 28, 2012

2012 BMW 3 Series Sedans - $35,795 to start including D&H and a 23/34 mpgUS city/highway rating with the 6-speed stick and 2.0L I4 incorporating Start/Stop.

The all-new sixth generation 2012 BMW 3 Series Sedan is once again ready to lead the compact luxury segment. Available as the 328i Sedan with its TwinPower Turbo 2.0L I4 or the 335i, featuring BMW’s TwinPower Turbo 3.0L I6, the new 3 will be available in three trims, a Sport, Luxury and Modern Line.

With a new yet immediately recognizable front end including a flat headlight treatment extending all the way to the iconic BMW signature kidney grille, the all new 3 has grown in length (3.7 inches), wheelbase (2.0 inches) and width (1.5 and 1.9 inches front and rear inches respectively). All add up to provide an even more aggressive appearance whether standing still or running WOT down a back straight of a race track.

Inside the new 3 like all BMW’s before it, high-grade materials and workmanship are prepped to greet its new owner. With the increased exterior dimensions, rear passengers gain extra legroom, an area the 3 Series needed some help.

Advanced drivetrains and chassis technology have been the hallmark of the 3 Series since the beginning. Despite the increased exterior dimensions, the all-new 3 arrives with a svelte curb weight some 88 pounds less than its predecessor which should allow even better handling. A trait the 3 was not short of to begin with.

Crash Test Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named the all-new 2012 BMW 3 Series Sedan a “Top Safety Pick”.

In order to earn “Top Safety Pick”, a car must receive a rating of “good”, the Institute’s highest rating, in all of four tests – 40 mph frontal offset impact, side impact, rear impact protection/head restraint and rollover protection – and must be equipped an electronic stability control system like BMW’s Dynamic Stability Control.

In addition to Dynamic Stability Control, ABS brakes, Bluetooth mobile phone integration, front and side airbags and head protection airbags, the new 3 Series sedan makes available features previously introduced on higher-end models. These include a full-color Head-up Display, Lane Departure Warning, Rearview Camera with Top-View and Blind-Spot Warning.

Models equipped with BMW Assist also receive BMW’s industry-leading enhanced Automatic Collision Notification. In the event of a collision severe enough to cause an airbag deployment, BMW Assist with eACN uses an algorithm developed in cooperation with WLIRC to use data from the vehicle’s crash sensors to assess the risk of severe injury. That assessment is transmitted to the call center, along with the vehicle’s location, providing first responders with information that will better prepared them, potentially saving precious minutes when they arrive on an accident scene.

The NHTSA has yet to rate the all-new 3-series but you can expect a 5-stars across the board when it does.

Re: BMWs New 3 Earns an IIHS Top Safety Pick
 

One of my favorite compacts... when in wagon form, with a stick and diesel..