Top Safety Pick

2012 BMW 3 series

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Small overlap front: driver-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Optional lane departure warning

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2012-15 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 BMW 328i 4-door

The BMW 3 series sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year.

Evaluation criteria	Rating

Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics The dummy’s head loaded the frontal airbag which stayed in front of the dummy until rebound. However, the steering column moved upward 16 cm, resulting in little airbag cushioning for the chest. Additionally, the seat belt allowed excessive forward excursion of the dummy’s head and torso. The side curtain airbag deployed but does not have sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects.

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space wasn't maintained well.

During the crash, the seat belt allowed the dummy to move too far forward, as is evident from the gap between the seat back and the dummy's torso.

Intrusion into the occupant compartment was extensive as the left front wheel was forced rearward and inward into the driver's footwell during the crash. Left lower leg injury risk was high.

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1204
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm)	10
Footrest (cm)	40
Left toepan (cm)	34
Brake pedal (cm)	24
Parking brake (cm)	0
Rocker panel lateral average (cm)	1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column	1
Upper hinge pillar max (cm)	6
Upper dash (cm)	16
Lower instrument panel (cm)	15

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	CEN1204
Head
HIC-15	238
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	25
Maximum Nij	0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm)	21
Femur (kN)
Left	2.0
Right	2.3
Knee displacement (mm)
Left	6
Right	3
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left	0
Right	0
Maximum tibia index
Left	2.07
Right	0.46
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left	4.0
Right	5.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	128
Right	70

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2012-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 BMW 328i 4-door

The BMW 3 series sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by BMW.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1118
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	4
Left (cm)	4
Center (cm)	3
Right (cm)	1
Brake pedal (cm)	2
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	0
Right (cm)	0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	-5
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	0

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1118
Head
HIC-15	132
Peak gs at hard contact	15
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.1
Extension bending moment (Nm)	8
Maximum Nij	0.20
Chest maximum compression (mm)	26
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.4
Femur force - right (kN)	1.7
Knee displacement - left (mm)	1
Knee displacement - right (mm)	2
Maximum tibia index - left	0.38
Maximum tibia index - right	0.30
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	3.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	60
Right	61

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2012-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 BMW 335i 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front seat-mounted torso airbags

The BMW 3 series sedan was redesigned for the 2012 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by BMW.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1120
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-16.5
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1120
Head HIC-15	323
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.2
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	41
Lateral force (kN)	1.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	40
Average deflection (mm)	36
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.37
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.72
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	2.8
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.7
Combined force (kN)	4.5
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.3
L-M moment (Nm)	157
A-P moment (Nm)	64

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1120
Head HIC-15	125
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.4
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	14
Lateral force (kN)	0.8
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	21
Average deflection (mm)	17
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	1.69
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.18
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.2
Acetabulum force (kN)	0.6
Combined force (kN)	1.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	128
A-P moment (Nm)	44

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2012-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2012 BMW 335i 4-door

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,516 lbs
Peak force	17,527 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	4.98

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	44
Distance below top of head (mm)	23
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	11.9
Head contact time (ms)	68
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	51
Max neck tension (N)	631

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.