LEUVEN, BELGIUM – The latest results from Euro NCAP’s new car safety tests show that when it comes to choosing a safe car, size isn’t everything.
Experts from Euro NCAP, which has been independently assessing the safety of new cars since 1997, tested the latest little and large electric models from MINI and Audi and both were shown to provide good protection to those onboard and other road users.
The latest MINI Cooper E and Audi A6 e-tron were awarded a maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating, illustrating how size and cost is no barrier when it comes to choosing a safe car.
Commenting on the test results, Aled Williams, Programme Director at Euro NCAP, said: “The new MINI Cooper E shows how you could own a fun-to-drive, small electric car and not have to compromise on safety. It’s also a reflection of MINI’s commitment to raising the protection of its cars from one generation to the next. As for Audi’s new A6 e-tron, we were particularly impressed by how well this large family car protected both adults and children in the event of an impact.”
MINI Cooper E: small electric car offers safety for all
Nearly 25 years after BMW successfully relaunched Britain’s best-known car, the MINI, Euro NCAP testing of the latest MINI Cooper E shows that the small car is big on safety.
With the reborn MINI, which came out in 2001, BMW set out to capture the charm and driver appeal of the original ’59 model while ensuring safety satisfied modern standards. So, it would prove. When Euro NCAP performed crash testing of the 2002 MINI One, it achieved a four- star rating for protection of adult occupants.
That commitment toward safety improved with the introduction of each subsequent generation of MINI hatchback – a reflection of how Euro NCAP is helping raise safety standards by setting increasingly challenging testing for vehicle manufacturers.
Now, Euro NCAP can reveal that the new 2025 MINI Cooper E successfully continues that trend of improving the popular small car’s safety standards. The latest, electric model once again raises the level of protection it affords both adult and child occupants, and vulnerable road users (pedestrians), and scores highly for the performance of active safety systems that can help a driver avoid an accident in the first place.
The new MINI Cooper E was awarded a maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating. It achieved protection scores of 89 per cent for adults, 85 per cent for children, 77 per cent for pedestrians (Vulnerable Road Users) and 79 per cent for its active safety systems (Safety Assist).
Unlike the reborn MINI of 2001, which featured relatively little safety equipment (just front- and side-impact airbags, and front seatbelt pretensioners) the latest MINI Cooper E comes with airbags that help protect the chest and pelvis in a side-impact, an airbag between the front seats to prevent occupants striking one another, and a host of active systems that include autonomous emergency braking that can detect and help avoid colliding with a car, pedestrian or cyclist, as well as speed limit assistance, a lane-changing system to prevent wandering and monitor for traffic in a driver’s blindspot, and even sensors that detect passing cyclists and warn occupants not to open the door into their path.
The results achieved by the MINI Cooper E speak of how the car industry continues to advance the safety of cars in all shapes and sizes, responding positively to the benchmarks laid down by Euro NCAP. It shows that you don’t have to compromise your brand values to meet the highest of safety standards. Nearly a quarter of a century after its reinvention, the MINI remains a compact, fun, young-at-heart car without compromising the protection of those inside the vehicle as well as those around it.Aled Williams, Programme Director at Euro NCAP
Audi A6 e-tron delivers outstanding child protection
Euro NCAP testing of the new 2025 Audi A6 e-tron shows that the stylish electric family car offers outstanding protection for adults and children.
The five-door executive car scored an impressive 92 per cent for the protection of adult occupants and 91 per cent for the protection of child occupants in the event of an accident. When taken into account with the robust performance of its active driver aids, Euro NCAP’s testing shows that Audi’s A6 e-tron offers a high standard of safety for families, achieving a maximum five-star Euro NCAP rating.
The rating mirrors the performance of the previous two iterations of the Audi A6, which have also achieved five-star Euro NCAP ratings, for the 2018 and 2011 versions.
We were impressed by the Audi A6 e-tron and the protection it afforded children as well as adults. The new model scored maximum points in our Child Occupant test, which offers peace of mind to parents who are searching for an electric family car that is as safe as it is stylish.Aled Williams, Programme Director at Euro NCAP