The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has announced that the 2018 BMW X3 has earned its highest safety rating possible, Top Safety Pick+, when you equip it with front crash prevention and specific headlights.

To qualify for the 2018 Top Safety Pick+ award, the IIHS says that a vehicle must earn good ratings in the driver-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and a good or acceptable rating in the passenger-side small overlap front test. The vehicle must also have a front crash prevention system that earns a superior or advanced rating, as well as good-rated headlights.

The 2018 BMW X3 is available with two optional front crash prevention systems, Frontal Collision Warning with City Collision Mitigation and Frontal Collision Warning with Extended Collision Mitigation. Both earn a superior rating. X3s equipped with either system avoided collisions in IIHS track tests at 12 and 25 mph. Each system also has a forward collision warning component that meets National Highway Traffic Safety Administration criteria.

The only headlights that are rated good come with the X3’s Executive package. The two other available headlight systems earn a marginal rating.

Source: IIHS