The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has recognized the 2022 BMW X5 with its Top Safety Pick accolade when the SUV is outfitted with particular headlights.

A mid-size luxury SUV, the X5 excelled at six tough crashworthiness evaluations, earning good scores in each. These included the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength, and head restraint tests.

However, to be awarded Top Safety Pick honors, vehicles must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

Here again, the X5 hit the mark. The SUV’s standard and optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention systems both scored superior ratings, and its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian system captured a superior rating, too.

Unfortunately, lack of good or acceptable headlights as standard features across all trims is what held the X5 back from snagging the coveted “plus” award.

That said, the headlights that come with the X5’s Executive trim and the optional Laser Light package earn a good rating — giving the luxury SUV the final element it needed to drive off with a Top Safety Pick award.