For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Crosstrek have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW X1 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Crosstrek are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW X1 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
The Crosstrek has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The X1 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
The Subaru Crosstrek’s rear backup camera has a standard washer for maintaining a clear view under various conditions. In contrast, the BMW X1 does not offer a rear camera washer, meaning its effectiveness relies on manual cleaning by the user when necessary.
Both the Crosstrek and the X1 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the BMW X1:
|
|
Crosstrek |
X1 |
| OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| HIC |
222 |
223 |
| Neck Injury Risk |
22.4% |
35.1% |
| Neck Stress |
267 lbs. |
299 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
265/291 lbs. |
363/373 lbs. |
|
|
Passenger |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
170 |
311 |
| Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.5 inches |
| Neck Injury Risk |
28.8% |
31.9% |
| Neck Compression |
51 lbs. |
102 lbs. |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
291/273 lbs. |
395/452 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Crosstrek is safer than the BMW X1:
|
|
Crosstrek |
X1 |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Chest Movement |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
| Hip Force |
297 lbs. |
330 lbs. |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Hip Force |
673 lbs. |
676 lbs. |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Max Damage Depth |
13 inches |
14 inches |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

