2019 Mini Cooper Earns Top Safety Pick from IIHS

Headlights have been a major factor in stopping vehicles from snagging the Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus awards. For the 2019 model year, the Mini Cooper Hardtop 2 Door features a new set of available LED headlights that make it one of the safer vehicles on the road.

In order to get into a 2019 Mini Cooper that was named as one of the institute's Top Safety Picks, you'll have to opt for some optional equipment. Upgrading the hatchback with the optional LED headlights and automatic emergency braking system lands you a hatchback that meets the institute's strict requirements.

The IIHS bestows its Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick Plus awards to vehicles that meet specific requirements. The IIHS recently made it more difficult for vehicles to snag one of its awards recently. For 2018, cars must earn at least a rating of "Good" in multiple crash tests, have a rating of "Advanced" or "Superior" in regard to front crash prevention technology, and have headlights that earn a rating of "Acceptable" or "Good."

The new two-door Hardtop Mini Cooper scored a rating of “Good” in all of its crash tests. The vehicle was not tested in the institute's new passenger-side small-overlap test, though. In regard to crash-prevention technology, the Mini earned a score of “Advanced” when equipped with an optional forward collision warning system and automatic emergency braking. In the 12 mph test, the Mini Cooper nearly avoided a collision. In the 25 mph test, the tech reduced the car's speed by an average of seven mph.

The major component that helped propel the Mini Cooper to earn the safety rating, though, was the addition of an improved set of optional LED headlights. The new headlights earned a rating of “Acceptable,” which is just good enough to help it qualify for a better safety rating. Last year's available LED headlights were found to be “Marginal.” Not going with the new optional LED lights results in base halogen headlights that have a rating of “Poor.”

With the new safety rating, the 2019 Mini Cooper Hardtop 2 Door becomes the only Mini in the lineup to have been named a Top Safety Pick by the IIHS. If the vehicle does well in the passenger-side small-overlap test, it could manage to earn the institute's Top Safety Pick Plus award.