There was a time, and not so long ago, when entry
level-priced, smaller cars were considered best buys for value but
questionable purchases for safety. Whether valid for all vehicles of
that category or not, urban, suburban and rural legends sprang up,
wailing incipient disaster for those who chose cash saving instead of
crash saving cars.
Then in answer to heavy media coverage of both governmental
and private industry-conducted crash tests plus mounting pressure from
safety groups and increasingly concerned new car buyers, manufacturers
snapped to and today nearly every smaller, lower-priced
vehicle is built to qualify for four or five stars in the front and
side crash ratings of NHTSA, the government's National Highway Traffic
Safety Agency, tests. And the manufacturers aren't being shy about
blowing their, er horns telling you about it either.
But, hold those bragging rights just a second there, Bub.
Not so fast there in declaring those generally smaller vehicles as
"safe cars," says IIHS, the Insurance Institute For Highway Safety
organization. Not every vehicle belongs in the all-star game, based on
their own tests and safety standards which are more severe and telling
than the NHTSA's because they test a car's structural integrity as
well as its seat belt and air bag performances.
In the three IIHS procedures:
Front. Vehicles of equal weight are crashed/trashed in the
more common accident configuration of left headlight to left headlight
plus at a higher speed (40 mph instead of 35 mph) than the NHTSA's
nose-to-nose test.
Side. The IIHS side impact test uses a 10% heavier crash
sled hitting a vehicle in a higher, more typical location than the
NHTSA test .
Rear. The IIHS exclusively performs and evaluates head
restraint designs with 20 mph rear impact crashes,
For those reasons, AOL Autos selected the IIHS ratings for
this list of safest cars that are more affordable.
It shows that smaller, lower priced cars can be safe cars
providing they are equipped with the sometimes-optional,
sometimes-standard, latest in safety devices such as side and curtain
airbags. However, before thinking you can now get the crash safety of a
Hummer in a Honda, remember the big guy might not always beat the
smaller guy but it's the way to bet. Bulk still has some weight, you
might say, in any collision.
Below, listed in ascending MSRP price, is a list of the top 10 safest cars that are considered entry level according to their IIHS rating.
550" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Toyota Yaris | Good | Good* | Marginal | $12,596 |
See Toyota Yaris Photos Here | Already offering the $14,000 Toyota Corolla and the $15,000 Matrix, Toyota has undercut itself with the $11,500 (base) Toyota Yaris. Looking like a shrink-dried Toyota Camry this 2 or 4- door toddler's price is more comfortable than its ride. Compensation comes from the smooth-shifting 5-speed (4-speed auto opt.) which helps this whelp get a combined 33mpg and still accelerate fairly well. Summation: Practicality. Economy. Versatility. Toyota reliability at lower entry level price. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Nissan Versa | Good | Good | Good | $14,125 |
See Nissan Versa Photos Here | Nissan's approach to the small business wars trades more room and comfort for a bit less but still good gas mileage, a bit more comfort for a bit less handling, and a 1.8 litre engine quite close to bigger sister Nissan Sentra's base 2.0 litre 4 plus the increasingly popular CVT tranny as an option. Curtain air bags like many here are standard. Summation: Flexible. Quiet. Upscale interior. Good mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Volkswagen Rabbit | Good | Good | Marginal | $14,990 |
See VW Rabbit Photos Here | Maybe, whenever the name Golf was mentioned in VW board room meetings, a quoram would answer, "Why, yes," and head for the first tee. Maybe not. Anyway, the VW Golf has suddenly been as discarded as a 30 over par scorecard, replaced with the oldie, and to the VW volk, goodie, name VW Rabbit. No hare-raising performer, the new-look 2/4 door VW Rabbit is a buttless and (base 2.5 litre, 150hp) gutless VW Jetta clone but does offer the tops in handling and comfort of that model. For street scat there is also an optional 2.0 litre, 200bhp turbo. Summation: Agile. Good ride. Fair mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Honda Fit | Good | Good | Poor | $15,765 |
See Honda Fit Photos Here | Already dominating the previous entry-level economy and quality ratings with its Honda Civic models, Honda comes into the new, even- lower price market with an outstanding first effort in its 4-door Honda FIT wagon/mini hatchback. Combining portions of the Honda Element's flexibility, Honda CR-V's room, Honda Ridgeline's visibility, Honda Accord's comfort and even better mileage than the master miser Honda Civic, the Honda FIT shows that the future of sensible but satisfying vehicles could be a small world, after all. Summation: Roomy. Best flexibility of minis. Excellent mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Honda Civic | Good | Good | Good | $15,810 |
See Honda Civic Photos Here | Year after year, the standard Honda Civic 2/4-door seems to dominate the lower price car field with all-around excellence in performance, handling, ride, comfort, fit and finish, design, reliability, resale value and the kind of overall gas mileage that comes close to some of the hybrids but not its own model which is EPA estimated at 49-51. It seems that with this price , you get what you don't pay for. Summation: Best all-around: Performance. Handling. Safety. Resale. Mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Chevrolet Cobalt | Good | Acceptable* | Good | $16,350 |
See Chevrolet Cobalt Photos Here | The Chevrolet division of GM is fielding two head-to-head "import" (some are made or assembled in the US) warriors; the Daewo-manufactured Aveo which fits this category in price but not in crashworthiness and the 2/4 door Chevy Cobalt which is , um, middle of the road in ride, performance, roominess and handling. However there is an available 2.0 litre supercharged 205 bhp engine that transforms Little Nell into a minor-league bat from hell. Summation: Somewhat spirited. Basically comfortable. Limited space. So-so mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Hyundai Sonata | Good | Acceptable | Good | $17,195 |
See Hyundai Sonata Photos Here | Hyundai, whose original farm-team, error-prone vehicles basically struck out in this country, has become a serious player in the starting lineups of many new car shoppers by, at first playing it NHTSA and IIHS safe and then by starting to hit home runs with its team of products. The Hyundai Sonata 4-door sedan is as slick as a triple play and as agile as a shortstop but can be a bit noisy and only has an ERA, er mpg, rating of about 21 combined. Summation: Comfortable. Quiet. Refined. Roomy. Adequate mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Chevrolet Malibu | Good | Good** | Acceptable | $17,215 |
See Chevrolet Malibu Photos Here | Chevrolet-a domestic--listed twice (see above) in the safest, lowest priced cars list? Well, why not, It's about time Detroit not only caught on but started to catch up. In this case, the catching up of the base model Malibu is part old Chevy with its uninspired interior and clattery 4 and 6 cylinder engines and part new, with increased quality of ride and handling, its ingenious quasi-wagon Maxx model and an available higher performance SS model. Summation: Peppy. Responsive. A car for all reasons/seasons. Fair mpg. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Ford Fusion | Good | Good | Marginal | $17,430 |
See Ford Fusion Photos Here | Biggest surprise of the year for automotive market watchers was the out-of-the gate, er, showroom, popularity of the new Mazda-6-based Ford Fusion. Its very roomy, handsome design, sports/touring car type handling, multiple power and drive options, surprisingly good mileage and debut year reliability made it an instant qualifier for those who prefer buying "American" and also for those who simply found it the best value for the money. Summation: Good performance. Handling. Roomy. Mpg okay. |
|
| VEHICLE | FRONT | SIDE | REAR | MSRP |
| Subaru Impreza | Good | Good | Good | $17,995 |
See Subaru Impreza Photos Here | The bipolar Subaru Impreza sedan comes either as tame, domesticated family transportation or as the WRX wildass race car Q-boat which can sink sports and muscle cars twice its price. But for a list of cars under 20k, we're talking the run of the, um, mall model here. No weak sister however, the family model Subaru Impreza boasts decent acceleration, excellent handling and ride but in a size that's just a tad tight for stretch-out room or larger size cargo. Summation: Legendary reliability. Good all-around performance. Okay mpg. |
|
*Equipped with optional side air bags
**Equipped with optional torso airbags and standard side curtain
airbags.
Prices: June, 2007 mfr.-listed MSRP; base models with side airbags.
