Did Your Minicar Pass the Test?

Adapted by Victoria Vickers from IIHS

See how your minicar stacks up

Minicars appeal to consumers for their fuel economy, despite their known safety deficiencies. All other things being equal, bigger, heavier vehicles are safer than smaller, lighter ones.

"Despite the safety trade-off, more consumers are buying minicars," said Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) President Adrian Lund. "That's why we tested them."

"We want consumers to use the ratings to choose the most crashworthy designs among the smallest cars. You don't have to buy the smallest, lightest car to get one that's easy on fuel consumption. Models including the Subaru Impreza and Honda Civic are bigger than the minicars we tested and they weigh more, so we would expect better occupant protection in serious crashes. At the same time, these and other small car models get nearly as good fuel economy as minicars."

Although risk of injury is generally higher in minicars than in bigger vehicles, size and weight don't tell the whole story. Some minicar models have more crashworthy designs than others. In its minicar crash tests, IIHS rated 2008 model vehicles. The rank order takes into account all three crash ratings (front, side and rear).

Fuel Economy

Miles per gallon: minicars versus small cars

Minicars
Model City Highway
Toyota Yaris 29 35
Honda Fit 27 34
Chevrolet Aveo 23 32
Hyundai Accent 24 33
Kia Rio 25 35
Mini Cooper 22 30
Small Cars
Model City Highway
Subaru Impreza 19 25
Honda Civic 25 36
Nissan Versa 24 32
Chevrolet Cobalt 22 31
Scion xD 26 32
Ford Focus 24 33
Toyota Corolla 26 35