If – and perish the thought – things should come to the crunch, the
MINI Countryman and MINI Paceman come with airbags as standard.
The driver and passenger airbags protect the head and upper body,
while side and head airbags are primarily designed to reduce the risk
of injuries to the head, chest and abdominal areas from side impacts.
A combination of -point belts, belt tensioners and belt force limiters
means the driver and front-seat passenger enjoy the best possible
protection. The restraint systems in the MINI Countryman won the
maximum stars in the Euro NCAP crash test, meaning a very low risk
to passengers in a frontal, lateral or pole impact. They were also rated
above average for child safety, which is not surprising, since there’s
provision for up to ISOFIX child seats in the rear as standard.
Fitted as standard, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) counteracts incipient
loss of grip by intervening in the engine management and applying
braking force to individual wheels at the front and rear as necessary. It
also incorporates a Hill Start Assist feature. Optional Dynamic Traction
Control (DTC), which includes Electronic Differential Lock Control (EDLC),
lets you make optimal use of natural over and understeer. EDLC applies
braking to the inner wheel if it loses too much grip around a corner,
ensuring the car maintains forward momentum through bends and on
surfaces with variable levels of grip. At the same time, it enables more
torque to be applied to the outer wheel, and applies additional corrective
braking to the rear axle on bends.
