Our verdict
Overall, the iX3 demonstrated a high level of safety and showed excellent performance in each of the four stages of safety.
Safe Driving
The iX3 detects and classifies the stature of occupants in the front seats, it does not monitor correct driver seatbelt usage or a front seat passenger who is ‘out of position’, for example with their feet on the dashboard.
The driver monitoring system scores well, both for distraction and for impairment. Key driving controls make use of physical controls such as buttons or stalks, while infotainment and comfort controls rely more on the screen or speech. A child presence detection system detects when a child has been left in the car and issues a warning when appropriate.
Based on a test drive of some 2,000 km through Italy, France, Germany and Austria, the speed limit information function correctly identified the limit in 86 percent of cases, equivalent to 97 percent of the driving distance.
Crash Avoidance
The iX3 has all of the latest crash avoidance systems. Its autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system far exceeds the requirements of legislation and performs well in many of the advanced test scenarios required by Euro NCAP. The car has a system to prevent ‘dooring’, where a door is opened into the path of a cyclist approaching from behind, and this worked well.
Crash Protection
Protection was good or adequate for all occupants in the frontal offset test. Good protection was provided to both of the child dummies, sitting in the rear seats, and maximum points were scored. In the full-width test, chest protection was rated as marginal for the small female driver, but protection was otherwise good or adequate. Additional data and validated computer modelling demonstrated good protection in most of the various combinations of test configuration and occupant stature. Overall, the iX3 scored well for the robustness of the protection it offered.
Full points were scored in the side impact tests, including far-side, where the iX3 has a centre airbag to mitigate occupant to occupant impacts.
Protection of vulnerable road users was more varied, with few areas where good protection was provided to the head or pelvis. Protection of the femur and tibia yielded multiple good results.
Post Crash Safety
The iX3 drops only a few out of a maximum 100 points in Post Crash Safety. Third Party Service (TPS) eCall is available but not in all countries covered by Euro NCAP. The door handles are electrically operated but were found to be extended and operable after all of Euro NCAP’s crash tests, and the mechanical fallback was confirmed.
For a detailed breakdown of scores and assessment results across all four stages of safety, see the full Euro NCAP datasheet.