New X5 earns "Good" rating from IIHS
 

i still don't understand why bmw took out the side airbags for rear seat passengers. they only include the head airbags in the rear now. seems like a backwards progress... but would like to understand their reasoning, if any.

MB has side AND head airbags in their SUV.

they claim the curtain ones will be sufficient...

also, are they still using the tubular ones or are they like the e90s now?

and are the front side airbags seat mounted or door mounted?

If I recall, the side impact standard is based on an overall chance of sustaining injuries. Each manufacturer is left to decide how they wish to achieve or exceed the standard. They can can do anything from multiple airbags to slapping on armor plates. My guess is the rear door has enough rigidity coupled with padding to meet standards.

Yes, the lower part of the rear door is strong enough.
I think the Side's are now door mounted. Not sure though.
On the roof rail, it says "AIRBAG" and not "HPS" :dunno:

i believe (but not sure) that the front side airbags are seat mounted while the head side ones are door mounted.

however, it is RIDICULOUS to claim that the rear doors are stronger than before and therefore rear side airbags are not needed. there maybe another explanation, but that's not it. otherwise, why not do that to the front doors? and more importantly, why do we need front airbags... because clearly the front of the car is stronger than the side door.... so you get my point?

i want a better explanation... because it just doesn't seem right.

Agree, deletion of rear side air bags option is a step backward. BMW's "tube" side curtain does not seem to me to be as good as a true "curtain". The tube does nothing to shield one from broken glass.

Rear side bags are not recommended by BMW if you have children in rear seats, maybe that has something to do with deletion.

Probably 2 "reasons":
LM is correct about the rear side air bags and kids; these cars are aimed
at Biffy, Buffy and the 2 Munchkins these days. (Some cars do offer a
turn off rear air bag, and turn off front bag, however...)

Cost accounting/bean counters continually push the engineering side to
save a few bucks here and there.
My 2Cts...
BR,mD

+1. I think most if not all the new and upcoming BMWs have seat-mounted front side airbags. For some reason, I prefer door mounted ones. The new BMWs all have head curtain airbags (X3 is an example) which replaced the HPS system. However, I don't understand why BMW is undergoing a trend of not making rear side door-mounted airbags available anymore. The E90 doesnt have this, nor does the E70. :thumbdown