IIHS Tests Subcompacts Against Midsize Sedans and the Results Are Not Great



Toyota Camry vs. Toyota Vios



Honda Accord vs. Honda Jazz



MB C-Class vs. Smart Fortwo


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The IIHS has released the crash test results involving three subcompact/ minicars into a midsize sedan from the same automaker and the results are not pretty.

Normally crash test results involve a vehicle crashing into a deformable barrier, which most of the time is not accurate in the real world. Most crashes involve two vehicles crashing into each other. In these three tests the IIHS chose pairs of vehicles from Daimler, Honda and Toyota due to their subcompact models earning good frontal crashworthiness ratings. The Honda Fit, Smart Fortwo and Toyota Yaris all earned good ratings in the Institute's offset test into a deformable barrier, but all three performed poorly in the frontal collisions with midsize cars.

"Though much safer than they were a few years ago, minicars as a group do a comparatively poor job of protecting people in crashes, simply because they're smaller and lighter," Lund says. "In collisions with bigger vehicles, the forces acting on the smaller ones are higher, and there's less distance from the front of a small car to the occupant compartment to 'ride down' the impact. These and other factors increase injury likelihood."
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