Hi, I am wondering how safe the new 07 MCS is? I know the old one has a 4 start Euroncap rating. So i wonder how is the new one? since after i mention to my parent that i am consider 07 MCS both other them strongly disagree with me since they are worried about my safty, not to mention that in the land of SUV and huge truck they say that i will squash in mini.

Also recently a very famouse Taiwanese actor just die in a mulity collision crush in her mini. I know that she survive the first crush unharm and the crush the killed her was the second one when she removed her seat belt to inspect her car. anyway that crush really make my parent go when they heard that i am considering MCS

So i am wondering have any of you guys heard or read somewhere (or survive) in a MCS accident?

and if its safe anyway to convince my parent? beside taking them out for a test drive?

Thank in advnace!

ps: if you haven't i hope u never will have to expereince it!

 

I believe there are six airbags, reinforced framework, DSC and ASC (among other things).

Also.. it wasn't the Mini that caused the accident in your example.

 

I do not think any US agency has done any crash tests on the 2007 yet. Here are the iihs ratings for the 2002 - 2006:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=303

 

If a SUV hits you head on then you will be in real trouble. MINI's are safe and nimble, but the car can't break the laws of physics. Buckle up and rely upon safe driving and you should be ok.

 

You will find lots of uneducated opinions about how unsafe all small cars are, including the MINI. People unfairly jump to conclusions that the MINI is a death trap, purely due to the fact that it is small in size.

It offers comparable crash protection to most any other car. It has 6 airbags, and a host of preventative features, like Dynamic Stability Control and Anti-Lock Brakes, and supreme maneuverabilty. This sounds silly, but it does factor in to accident avoidance.

Again, I think most people are simply uninformed.

 

well, she was still in the car when she remove her seat belt, she didn't mange to get out yet, then again, i think i can aruge that the driver (she was the passenger) survive both crash with minor injury...

PS: So, if both a mini and a suburban are crash into a wall both would perform about the same, but if they are crash into each other mini=squashed?

 

The 2007 MCS is even safer than before. That's why the new MCS has grown slightly in size from the first generation in order to fulfil future safety requirements.

All 2007 Mini Coopers come with antilock disc brakes and a tire-pressure monitor. The S model also includes traction control, and should you equip either model with the Sport package, you'll get BMW's Dynamic Stability Control. Other standard safety features include a tire-pressure monitoring system, side airbags for front occupants and full-length side curtain airbags in the hatchback. The Mini Cooper convertible features fixed roll bars perched just behind the rear seat.

But against an Humvee, it won't look too good. But then again, nothing would ah!

 

An interesting web site:

http://www.informedforlife.org/viewartcl.php?index=24

 

about as safe as driving around in a box full of broken light bulbs.

But seriously, here is a photo of a MINI and a big Ford F-150 pickup truck after the same exact crash test. Show this one to your parents. This should be very good proof that a MINI is a safe car.

 

Great photo and excellent proof>

 

That was a great photo, thanks! I'm emailing it to my parents now...

 

Yucca Patrol,

THANK YOU.

Nice save!

 

[quote=Loui;1438525]If a SUV hits you head on then you will be in real trouble. MINI's are safe and nimble, but the car can't break the laws of physics. Buckle up and rely upon safe driving and you should be ok.[/quot

Agreed...

The mini performs well in the "Offset" frontal. It faired much worse in the rear end collisions.

 

If an SUV hits you straight on, and you are in an SUV, you are in real trouble. If you are in an SUV and an 18 wheeler trailer truck hits you straight on, you are in real throuble. Will your parents buy you an 18 wheeler? Trying to be the biggest car for safety is like the arms race. It is difficult to be the biggest, and the larger you go the more dangerous you make the world.

If you are in an SUV and you have to swerve to avoid an accident, you could be in real trouble.

If you are in a MINI, and are tempted to drive fast because it is so much fun to drive, you could get yourself into real trouble.

I've been lucky. The only accidents I've had in 42 years of driving were slow speed parking related bumps and scrapes. I try to be aware of the drivers around me and anticipate what they might do. Cars are dangerous. They kill more people than wars do. Driving defensively is one of the best ways to stay safe.

 

The 07 Mini is plenty safe, within the parameters of what it is. SAFE has as much to do with your attitude toward driving, being very DEFENSIVE and AWARE of all the lunatics around you in every direction as anything the car has to offer, and will probably be what will make the difference between living and dying on the road. I felt a lot less safe in my vintage 62 Cooper, and I feel a lot less safe in my Grinnall Scorpion, but that wouldn't stop me from driving any of these vehicles, WITH THE PROPER DEFENSIVE ATTITUDE. As a former lifelong motorcyclist, I simply drive as if no one can see me, but can run into me. Your parents should be much more concerned about your abilities to drive defensively and your real world driving skills and your hopefully MATURE attitude and lack of road rage tendencies than the car you're driving, imo. Class dismissed. Anyone for milk and cookies??

 

I was going to post something similar. I'm planning on driving my MINI in traffic like I do my motorcycle (but without the ability to 'share' a lane in stopped traffic - which is legal here in CA). Assume nobody sees you and plan accordingly. Watch the movements of the drivers around you and drive defensively.

 

MINIs are extremely safe on many levels...but good luck convincing your parents. They are only reflecting the prevailing logic around "bigger is better"...a pretty firmly entrenched point-of-view these days. It's unfortunate. Good luck!!

 

The 2007 MINI Cooper got a 5 star crash rating in Europe in their very demanding series of tests.

If your parents insist on your going some other direction, be sure you insist on the alternative car having at least a 5 star rating along with at least as many active and passive safety features as is found on our car.

I've always bought cars that range at the top of the list of safest cars starting with my first Saab in 1979. Based on my research prior to buying this car I would have no qualms on recommending this car to my son (anyone who knows me would agree that that's saying a lot).

 

MINI is safer than any other small cars in its class. But not as safe as a good midsize sedan for sure. I am taking my chances and I refuse to drive a large SUV.

 

Actually I can attest to the fact that the Mini does very well in a rear end collision. I was hit from behind by a car going ~45 m.p.h. on a wet road and the only "intrusion" into the passenger compartment was the battery box under the boot was rotated towards the front. Unless you lifted up the carpet trunk liner you never would have know even that happened.

 

Here are some sample pictures of how my MINI faired in a ~40+20 MPH head on collision The driver of the SUV made an illegal turn in front of me and was cited at the scene. The SUV was in FAR worse shape than my car. There were pieces thrown all over the place. Rear of the A-Pillar there was no noticable damage at all to my MINI.







The whole laws of physics debate always makes me laugh, we're talking about metal objects here which all weigh quite a bit, yes heavier objects carry more energy, but that doesn't automatically make them safer. Use the laws of logic. Most SUV's are still frame construction rather than Unibody. A MINI does NOT have a frame, it's all one piece. This makes the car much more ridgid.

Most of the issues with rear collisions in the MINI have been with part of the other car coming through the rear window, and the proximity of that window to the rear passengers heads. This poses no risk at all to the front passengers. Look up the smart car crash test on youtube, they slam a smart car into a cement block at 80+ MPH, the passenger compartment is basically still intact afterwards.

All these stupid SUV's on the road are the reason behind all these traffic fatalities. You're driving a 7k lb immovable object, you can't get out of the way, and when you hit someone driving a normal sized car, you basically just drive over them. I can't believe how many people still think bigger is better. There's SO much information out there saying the opposite. It's like saying that smoking is good for you in this day and age. What?!?! :impatient!

 

Says who? This is the kind of misinformation that irks me. People just say things and have no evidence to back it up. There are quite a few midsize cars that are QUITE A BIT LESS safe than the MINI. A bigger car is not necessarily safer. Safety is a package, it involves airbags, ability to control the car, brakes, passive safety systems like stability control. Just because the NIHS crashes a car on a steam trailer into a barrier at 30 MPH and it gets 5 stars doesn't mean that car will save you from a train that crashes into it at 120 mph. I don't know of many midsize cars that you can do a 30+ MPH u-turn in, or make a left turn at 50+ mph, both things i've done in my car, both things that could have saved my life by reducing an impact or avoiding it all together.

 

The SUV was not if far worse shape than your mini. It's called the crumple zone. "a good mid size sedan" I said. Not any mid size sedan.

 

The SUV was in far worse shape... trust me. Most SUV's with framed construction have extremely small crumple zones, crumple zones as we see them today are much more elaborate, and are the byproduct of unibody construction. The mid 90's era Cherokee was built using framed construction IIRC. The passenger compartment had been pretty heavily damaged, the driver's knees went into the center console (even though he had his seatbelt on), his bumper was across the street, his right rim/tire was parallel to the ground (Rather than perpendicular to the ground).

He was in far worse shape that I was. After my airbags went off I reached down to grab my ipod that had fallen and opened the door normally, walked to the front to assess the damage, and went over to help the other driver. Aside from a slight chemical burn on my arm from the airbag, I was fine. My neck had slight whiplash, but I didn't even feel that until a few days later.

Crash test ratings are on par with most if not all mid-size sedans. I still maintain, safety is a package. I'll take the handling, braking, and acceleration of my MINI any day over an extra 18 inches of double ply tin foil thick aluminum in front of me as a buffer for the 36,000 lb semi that's crossed into my lane.

Most cars today are designed with the same level of survibility in a crash, the thing that sets cars apart is their ability to avoid that crash alltogether. Be it through audible warnings to the driver (Volvo) automatic braking (Mercedes) or maneuverability (MINI).

Driving is an active, engaging process. If you sit in your lane all day and drive back and forth, to and from work, waiting for something to hit you and hoping your SUV or Mid-size sedan will protect you, i'm sorry :-\.

 

haha yeah mini's safe. esp the new 07 onee. sadley enough i rear ended a honda civic. completely destroyed that car. but all my car had was a deployed airbag, and a crack in the bumper. lol. this was about 30mph i believe.