When the small overlap crash test was first introduced by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the US, most manufacturers were taken by surprise of how bad their cars performed.
Testing to see how the vehicles would perform in case they hit another car or an obstacle with only 25 percent of their bodies, the new simulation proved to be pretty hard to ace. At first, everyone struggled but today, we’re seeing pretty big advancements from everyone (ok, maybe excepting the Chinese).
The last model to go through the IIHS testing sequence was BMW’s own 2014 2 Series. Fortunately, the new Coupe earned the institute’s Top Safety Pick + rating, which is the highest a car could get.
Scoring good results in all categories (small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, head restraints and seats), the car was deemed safe for all sorts of crashes. It was even rated advanced in front crash prevention with optional equipment. The driver’s assistant package must’ve had something to say here.
The system automatically brakes if it detects you’re getting too close to the car in front of you, therefore either reducing the speed dramatically or even bringing you to a complete standstill, depending on the situation.
It's worth noting that we couldn’t help but cringe seeing those three beautiful, brand new 228i cars were being crushed in the IIHS' attempt to see how they would handle a possibly tragic situation. However, it’s best to see a couple of them turned to piles of scrap metal than lose one human life.
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