The MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Civic Type R doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door has a standard PostCrash iBrake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Civic Type R doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
The Cooper Hardtop 2 Door’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Civic Type R doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Cooper Hardtop 2 Door and the Civic Type R have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems and rearview cameras.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door is safer than the Honda Civic Type R:
|
Cooper Hardtop 2 Door |
Civic Type R |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
238 |
265 |
Chest Compression |
.6 inches |
.6 inches |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
277/243 lbs. |
445/224 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.