Roof Crush?
 

Hi,

Just joined the forum as I have been googling everywhere...but can't find any info on X5 roof crush!

We are planning on upgrading to either a volvo xc90 or the x5. we are currently leaning towards xc90 b/c of safety issues, roof crush testing, etc but we know + love bmw's as we have always owned them and are currently driving 5 series touring now.

So -- would greatly appreciate if anyone can advise on roof crush for the bmw x5...or point me at information that provides what I'm looking for!

Thanks for all your help

Btw -- I found this link already. anything else?
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e53/3560608-1.html

When you are considering safety, also consider the safety benefit of superior handling and stopping power to help you avoid an accident in the first place. The likelihood of a roof crushing accident is minimal compared to all other types of accidents. I trust that an X5 will out accelerate, corner, and stop better than the Volvo.

:xoutpost:

The E70 was not tested in a rollover test. Volvo did theirs on their own time. But, saying that, I doubt there is much difference in roof strength between the two.
This member's E70 was in a rollover accident, and judging from the damage of the car, it looks like it did very well in those circumstances.

BMWs are very safe and fairly rigid in structure. One area where BMW is above the competition is Active Safety, which is avoiding the collision in the first place. The X5 is extremely agile and stable, which means it can avoid a possible accident in the first place, and remain in control instead of understeering into a tree. It gives the driver more confidence in daily driving and emergency manuevers.

Just for example, I went to an Ultimate Driving event where we learned some driving skills (for teens) on $70k X5s. One exercise involved doing an emergency lane change, jerking the wheel all the way to the left or right after accelerating full to ~65mph. The X5s were well planted and remained in control at all times, barely requiring DSC assistance.

I believe that the 2004-2006 X5's have a really poor roof design. The panaromic roof doesn't help. There are two threads (I'll try to find them) that show pictures of rollovers and the roofs are completely crushed and ripped open.

Here is one: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=184880



http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/6...sony002gn9.jpghttp://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9...sony004yr2.jpg

The picture proves nothing unless another vehicle in exactly the same type of accident did better. By the way, the driver and occupants walked away from this crash.

It proves that the roof isn't immune to crushing...and that there is a gaping hole in the roof during a rollover. Walking out of a car like this is luck. Just like this one...he got ejected through the sunroof and still survived! :wow:

http://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/x...hed-x-x5-3.bmphttp://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/x...hed-x-x5-2.bmphttp://www.xoutpost.com/attachments/x...hed-x-x5-1.bmp

from http://www.xoutpost.com/x5-e53-forum/...smashed-x.html.

With no sunroof he might have stayed in the car?

Thanks and keep it coming
 

Hey all,

Thanks for the replies! Really appreciate it.

runningaround - I was actually thinking of a e53 / 2004 - 2006 model. Would you suggest against? If I drop down to a 2003 or lower would that be better? Or would I need to purchase a e70 / 2007?

Like I said overall we have a preference for BMW as that's been our experience. I think overall, we are leaning more towards the bmw vs volvo as well. However we've never owned an SUV type before. I agree that roof crush has a low prob of happening but it is a concern of mine as it's more likely to happen to the SUV types.

Would appreciate any more news, info, advice you can provide on x5 roof crush, and if there are particular models / years to avoid or that are recommended.

Thanks again!