Mini Countryman comes first as family cars get mixed results in US crash tests

Just as the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) conducts independent crash tests on new cars on this side of the Atlantic, so the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) does so in the United States. The results of its most recent round of tests will make for sobering reading both in car manufacturers’ boardrooms around the world and for European buyers pondering their next family-friendly car.

The IIHS's latest set of crash tests was carried out on "small cars" – a term rather more elastic in the US than here, with the results running the gamut in size from a Nissan Juke compact crossover to a Mazda 5 MPV. In this case the test was designed to look at the "small overlap test", which replicates an impact with a narrow solid object, such as a telegraph pole or street light. It is a test Euro NCAP does not carry out.

In the test the car is slammed into the object at 64km/h. The results for a car's structure can be catastrophic. Of the cars tested, the Chevrolet Volt, Ford C-Max hybrid, Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru BRZ (the Toyota GT86's twin) all scored an "acceptable" rating. Only the Mini Countryman was rated "good".

The test results make for rather more discomfort for Hyundai, whose Veloster small coupé was rated "marginal". The results were disastrous for the Fiat 500L, Nissan Juke, Nissan Leaf and Mazda 5, which were all labelled as "poor", the IIHS's lowest mark in the test.

"The Mini Cooper Countryman gave a solid performance," said Joe Nolan, IIHS senior vice-president for vehicle research. "The Countryman's safety cage held up reasonably well. The safety belts and airbags worked together to control the test dummy's movement, and injury measures indicate a low risk of any significant injuries in a real-world crash this severe.

“Collapse of the occupant compartment is the downfall for four small cars in this group, including the Fiat 500L, Mazda 5, Nissan Juke and Nissan Leaf. A sturdy occupant compartment allows the restraint systems to do their job, absorbing energy and controlling occupant motion. When we tested the Mazda 5 we saw a host of structural and restraint system problems. Parts of the occupant compartment essentially buckled, allowing way too much intrusion.”