2008 BMW 5 Series luxury sedan has the worst side-impact protection

After a series of safety tests it seems as if the 2008 BMW 5 Series luxury sedan has the worst side-impact protection, out of all the vehicles that were tested. These tests had been carried out just to see what would happen if a truck or SUV were to hit the side of a vehicle, as a speed of 31mph.

Side impact crashes as we know are one of the most common crashes which can often be fatal, in the US alone more than 9,000 people were killed in 2005. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety who carried out these safety tests said that the 2008 BMW 5 Series was the worst out of all the cars tested, whereas the Volvo S80, Kia Amanti, and also the Acura RL all earned the highest safety rating.

As the sales of SUV’s go up each year, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety said that these tests had to be done. All the sedans that were tested had the standard range of side airbags, what the Institute found with the worst performing 2008 BMW 5 Series is that the airbags that are designed to protect both the head and abdomen did not perform as well as they should have.

Thomas Plucinsky, a spokesman for BMW, said that they do up to 12 tests on their cars, whereas the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety only did one. Plucinsky went on to say that you get different crash test results if the seat is set in a different position.

What are your views on this, and do you feel safe in your BMW 5 Series?

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