Sales of subcompact cars, the smallest cars in America, were up 42 per cent in the last year, but a new study says that smaller cars could cost you dearly in a crash.
According to a new report released this week, there is a big difference in safety. The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety said an economy sized car, one that's small and light, is not the best choice for safety.
Driver death rates in such cars are more than double that of bigger cars.
With sales for subcompact cars booming, the Insurance Institute tested the cars for front, side and rear impact crashes.
Some of the cars did well such as the Nissan Versa which came out on top in the crash tests, followed by the Toyota Yaris, the Honda Fit, and the Mini Cooper .
The worst performers were the Hyundai Accent which came bottom, with acceptable ratings for front crashes but poor ratings for side and rear impacts. Hyundai said its vehicle had an excellent real world safety record and Kia Rio, earning acceptable in the front test, but poor in the side and rear tests.
As safe as some of the smaller cars are, they still don't compare with larger vehicles . In an accident on the road, size usually wins.
"The laws of physics simply dictate that in a crash between two vehicles, the smaller car gets the worse end of the deal," said David Zuby of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
"So when you choose among the smallest cars, in an attempt to get better fuel mileage, you are trading off safety," Zuby said.
The institute said this was the first time they tested economy vehicles because high petrol prices have made the small cars more popular. The cars, which weigh about 2,500 pounds or less, raise some safety concerns because of how they would interact with larger vehicles in a crash.
"People travelling in small, light cars are at a disadvantage, especially when they collide with bigger, heavier vehicles. The laws of physics dictate this," said institute president Adrian Lund.
It is possible to pick a safe small cars, but, if you can afford it, bigger is usually better the institute said.
The report also points out that popular cars that are a bit bigger, including the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, are nearly as fuel efficient as minicars.
However, the report says, these bigger cars can be expected to offer better protection in serious crashes.
