I was reading in Kiplingers Personal Finance, March 2004 issue, our little Mini's
scored well were the "gold standard" of safety :smile:

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Unfortunately, you're mostly on your own when trying to determine which cars are safest. Vehicles that don't protect you in crashes and lack advanced safety equipment are plentiful, particularly among lower-priced vehicles.

With that in mind, Kiplinger's evaluated hundreds of 2004 models to come up with 13 vehicles that go to the head of the safety class. Five of the vehicles -- Mini Cooper, Mercedes-Benz E Class sedan, Volkswagen Passat sedan, Ford Freestar minivan and Volvo XC90 SUV -- are featured in the March issue of the magazine. Here are eight more that represent the gold standard for safety. Note that we've included only those vehicles that have been crash tested by both the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The top rating from NHTSA is five stars. Sticker prices include destination charges.

Full article here:
Really Safe Cars