For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mazda CX-70 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 X3 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the CX-70 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The X3 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The CX-70 Premium has a standard Secondary Collision Reduction System, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The X3 doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Both the CX-70 and X3 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the CX-70 has Rear Cross Traffic Braking (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The X3’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.
The CX-70’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The X3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the CX-70 and the X3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mazda CX-70 is safer than the BMW X3:
|
CX-70 |
X3 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
324/335 lbs. |
546/448 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.5 inches |
.8 inches |
Neck Stress |
96 lbs. |
168 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
253/344 lbs. |
495/536 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 Mazda CX-70 is safer than the BMW X3:
|
CX-70 |
X3 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
53 |
60 |
Chest Movement |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Abdominal Force |
137 lbs. |
148 lbs. |
Hip Force |
174 lbs. |
214 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
21 |
108 |
Spine Acceleration |
27 G’s |
48 G’s |
Hip Force |
416 lbs. |
866 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
12 inches |
13 inches |
Spine Acceleration |
31 G’s |
37 G’s |
Hip Force |
439 lbs. |
472 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the CX-70 is 1.4% to 4.2% less likely to roll over than the X3.
The Mazda CX-70 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The X3 has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2025.