Two of Mini’s newest models achieve five-star result

The Mini Cooper E and the Mini Countryman have both achieved a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Mini Cooper E

The battery-electric Mini Cooper E Small Car performed well across each of the key assessment areas, resulting in a five-star rating that applies to all Mini Cooper E variants currently available in Australia and New Zealand.

In the frontal offset (MPDB) test the structure of the Mini Cooper E remained stable providing Adequate protection of the driver chest and lower legs. Protection of the front passenger lower legs in this test was also Adequate, with Good protection for all other body regions of the driver and front passenger. A mix of Good and Adequate results were seen in the full width frontal test, with Good results seen for all critical body regions in the oblique pole and side impact tests.

Turning to collision avoidance functionality, the Mini Cooper E showed Good all-round levels of performance in avoiding or minimising serious impacts with other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists through its lane support and autonomous emergency braking systems. AEB Backover, however, was not available on the test vehicle therefore testing of this system was not conducted.

In evaluating the level of protection provided to child occupants when seated in the second row, the Mini Cooper E offered a mix of Good and Adequate injury protection when seated in appropriate child restraints. In ANCAP’s child restraint installation assessment of the Mini Cooper E it was found that for some ISOFIX child restraints, the visual indicators were obscured due to limited access between the child restraint and the side of the vehicle. This meant that the child seats were unable to be successfully installed and were not awarded points.

“The five-star rating achieved by the Mini Cooper E is a positive result,” said ANCAP Chief Executive Officer, Carla Hoorweg.

“One word of caution for those considering using the Mini Cooper E to transport young children is the difficulty in being able to see the ISOFIX visual indicators on some child restraints.”

It’s important to note that when using ISOFIX child restraints in Australia that in addition to the top tether, ISOFIX attachments are successfully installed and tensioned such that the visual indicators are green.

“Our independent testing helps identify these nuances, ensuring parents and caregivers have the information they need to make safe and informed choices,” Ms Hoorweg added.

Mini Countryman

All petrol and battery electric variants of the new Mini Countryman Small SUV also offer five-star safety, with Good protection offered to the head and legs of the driver and the head and chest of the front seat passenger in the MPDB test. A slight increase in injury risk was observed for the chest of the driver. Adequate and Marginal results were seen for the legs of the front passenger where structures in the dashboard were found to be a potential source of upper and lower injury.

In the full width frontal test, protection was Marginal for the chest of the driver and rear adult female passenger, with Good protection seen across other critical body areas. Child occupant protection is assessed through both the frontal offset and side impact tests, with the Mini Countryman providing Good levels of protection for the 10 year and 6 year dummies in these tests.

“The Mini Countryman is fitted with lower ISOFIX anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages for all rear seating positions, and did not have the same visibility limitations as the smaller Mini Cooper E,” said Ms Hoorweg.

The Mini Countryman has an active bonnet where sensors are used to detect when a pedestrian is struck, and actuators will lift the bonnet to provide greater clearance from stiff components in the engine bay. In tests to determine the vehicle’s protection of a struck pedestrian, the Countryman was tested with the bonnet in the raised position and Good or Adequate results were recorded over most of the windscreen and bonnet area with some Weak and Poor results recorded on the windscreen pillars, the base of the windscreen and front edge of the bonnet surface. While this feature is not available on the Mini Cooper E, both models provide high levels of overall pedestrian protection.

Full details on the performance of the Mini Cooper E can be viewed here.

Full details on the performance of the Mini Countryman can be viewed here.