2010 Mini Cooper

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Safety - What the Auto Press Says

The 2010 MINI Cooper does well in government crash tests, earning four out of five stars for driver and passenger protection in a front end crash tests as well as for rear passenger protection in a side impact crash tests. Even better, it receives the top score of five stars for front passenger protection in a side impact collision. In rollover testing, it earns a five-star rating, which means it has only a 10 percent chance of rollover in a single vehicle crash -- a score that is excellent for the class.

The insurance industry has not yet tested the 2010 MINI Cooper, but the 2009 model did well. It only earned a score of “Acceptable” in side impact crash and roof strength tests, but it earned the top score of “Good” for both front and rear impact crash tests.

Both the Cooper hard top models and the Cooper convertibles have essentially the same safety offerings -- with the one major exception being the airbags. Cooper convertibles offer four airbags standard while Cooper hard tops add side curtain airbags, boosting the total number to six. All Cooper models the latest generation Anti-lock Brake System, Cornering Brake Control with Electronic Brake Force Distribution and an engine that is designed to brake away from its mounts in a head-on collision to help protect the legs of front passengers. Unfortunately, one of the MINI’s few failings is that its rear visibility is exceptionally poor, especially in the convertible. Another is that there is no option for Stability or Traction control.

•  -"Vision to the rear is quite good in the hardtop, but the convertible has a couple of issues.As mentioned earlier, the lower portion of the driver's line of sight to the rear is blocked by the convertible top when it's down.With the top up, the top blocks vision to the rear sides.Backing out of a parking spot is a hope and a prayer." -- New Car Test Drive
• "A new automatically-deploying rollbar system replaces a pair of permanently fixed hoops, adding both passive safety and clearing the line of sight out the still-small rear porthole - er, window." -- Left Lane News