Minicars Don’t Measure Up

You see these minicars everywhere on the roads today: the Fiat, Honda’s Fit, the Smartcar. Almost half the size and weight of a regular vehicle, the challenge for manufacturers of these compact vehicles is driver and passenger safety.

In the small overlap front crash test, only 1 in the 11 models of these tiny cars achieved an acceptable rating, making them ‘the worst performing group of any evaluated so far.‘ The small overlap test replicates an accident whereby the front corner of a vehicle collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole. As the following article describes, ‘In the test, 25 percent of a vehicle’s front end on the driver’s side strikes a rigid barrier at 40 mph.’

The smaller compartment of these minicars makes it difficult for them to manage crash energy, and the compartment can collapse as a result. This translates into nothing less than injury. As the article shows, the two ‘worst performers are the Honda Fit and the Fiat 500. In both cases, intruding structure seriously compromised the driver’s space, and the steering column was pushed back toward the driver.’

Let me tell you, the book How to Look Hot in a Minivan was not inspired by these tests, but the results do make you think about your choice of vehicle. Play it safe, steer clear of these minicars.

To see which minicar achieved the acceptable rating and to see the full article;

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/desktopnews/minicars-fall-short-for-small-overlap-frontal-protection

If you have any questions please call McDougall Insurance & Financial and speak to one of our professionals 1-800-361-0941.