2016 MINI Cooper Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Award
The 2016 MINI Cooper has earned a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
The award comes after the compact car received a good rating as a result of making improvements to its side curtain airbags, boosting protection for rear seat occupants. Redesigned for the 2014 model year, the MINI Cooper was put through most of the IIHS crashworthiness tests and earned good ratings, but it failed a government side test before IIHS could test the car for side protection. The government side test failure resulted in a recall and IIHS was only recently able to get a compliant vehicle to test.
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Because of this, IIHS notes that the award only applies to the two-door MINI Cooper Hardtop models built after November 2015, when the latest changes were made.
To qualify for an IIHS Top Safety Pick+ award, a vehicle must earn good ratings in the small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints tests. In addition, it must be available with a front crash prevention system that earns an advanced or superior rating.
The MINI Cooper’s optional front crash prevention earned an advanced rating. During IIHS track tests, the MINI Cooper avoided a collision in three out of five runs at 12 mph and slowed to 1-3 mph in the others. At 25 mph, its impact speed was cut by an average of 7 mph.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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