Small cars could be a risk to drive. Just one of 11 subcompact and mini cars passed a recent Insurance Institute for Highway Safety overlap crash test, CNNMoney reported.
General Motors’ Chevrolet Spark was the only car to pass the test with a rating of “Acceptable,” which is the second-highest of four possible ratings. None of the cars received a “Good” rating.
In the crash test, which is a newer test implemented by the Institute, the car hits a barrier while going 40 mph. The impact is on a quarter of the vehicle’s front bumper, the barrier hitting the left corner in front of the driver’s seat. The Institute modeled the simulated crash after similar accidents in the real world. Such small overlap impacts cause around a quarter of accident-related deaths and serious injuries.
Of the 11-car group, the cars to receive the lowest crash testing rating of “Poor” were the Nissan Versa, Toyota Prius c, Hyundai Accent, the Mitsubishi Mirage, Chrysler Group's Fiat 500 and the Honda Fit. The Mazda2, Kia Rio, Toyota Yaris and Ford Fiesta were given a “Marginal” rating, the second-lowest possibility.
The Fit and the Fiat performed the worst in the test; for both cars, the steering “pushed back” against the driver, while the compartment smashed into itself.
CNN noted that most of these vehicles have performed well in other crash tests from the Institute as well as government tests.
Vehicles can be re-engineered to perform well in the tests, according to Institute spokesman Russ Radar. Carmakers are working “feverishly to update their product to do better in this test,” Radar said as quoted by USA TODAY.
Small cars’ shock-absorbing materials may be bypassed in an offset crash test like the overlap test, he noted. While automakers can work to improve safety and shock absorption in compact cars, the smallest cars on the road will probably never be the safest.
"Small, lightweight vehicles have an inherent safety disadvantage," Joe Nolan, a senior vice president for the Institute, said in a statement as quoted by USA TODAY.
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