It was not so long ago that if you wanted a safe vehicle, you went with a huge vehicle. But with the soaring price of gas, car buyers want more options. Now, vehicle safety experts say they can get a safe car with a compact car.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by the insurance industry, recently crash-tested 13 compact vehicles, and awarded six of them with its "Top Safety Pick 2011" award.
On top of the other models the IIHS has already tested this year, there are now 22 small cars that have earned the award.
While other cars tested in this round didn't fare as well, none earned a "Poor" rating in any of the tests. That alone, says IIHS spokesperson Russ Rader, is a big turnaround from a few years ago.
"The classic advertising slogan is, ‘You've come a long way, baby,' and now we have to say that about small cars," Rader told CTV's Canada AM Thursday from Washington.
"Small cars are much safer than they used to be. And in this era of gas prices that seem to defy gravity, the list of small cars with high fuel economy now includes those with high safety ratings too."
The six cars to earn top safety picks in this round of testing were:
- 2012 Ford Focus
- 2012 Honda Civic four-door
- 2011 Hyundai Elantra
- 2011 Lexus CT 200h hybrid
- 2011 Nissan Juke
- 2011 Toyota Prius hybrid
The other small cars to be rated but that didn't earn "Top Safety Pick" award were:
- Dodge Caliber
- Honda CR-Z
- Honda Insight hybrids
- Nissan Sentra
- Nisan Versa
- Scion xD
- Suzuki SX4
To earn the IIHS's top designation, a vehicle had to have received a rating of ‘Good' in all four of the Institute's crash tests: front, side, rear impact and rollover. (The Institute rates on a scale of good, acceptable, marginal and poor.)
Electronic stability control (ESC) must also be available at least as an option, since an IIHS study found that ESC reduces fatal single-vehicle crashes by up to 50 per cent. Three of the vehicles in the second group didn't earn the Top Pick designation because they didn't have ESC. The U.S. government will require ESC on all new vehicles starting in 2012.
Even 10 years ago, small cars were thought of as "tin cans" that offered few safety features. Indeed, when the Institute began naming top safety picks with 2006 model-year vehicles, only three small cars earned the distinction. And that was back when the criteria were less stringent.
But automakers have stepped up to the plate in recent years to include safety in the design of their compact cars. All small cars now have standard side airbags, and most have standard ESC.
"Small cars used to have the least safety equipment. But now, whether you're buying a Mazda or a Mercedes, they have the same key safety features that save lives," Rader said.
Rader notes that small cars will never fare as well in crashes and rollovers as larger vehicles, simply because of fundamental laws of physics. But small car owners can feel more assured these days that they're safer.
"It's much more important with a small car to choose one with high safety ratings. And now, overall, 22 small cars (including others the Institute tested previously) have earned the Institute's highest safety rating."
