Safer Small Cars

As automakers are building more small cars, they are managing to make them safer than ever, new car safety tests show. Six of 13 small cars recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earned the group’s top safety pick award, and none earned a poor rating in any of four tests. The new tests include hybrids and gasoline-only models that are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles available in the U.S. market.

The ratings are based on performance in front, side, rollover, and rear impact evaluations. Winners are the 2012 Ford Focus and Honda Civic, along with the 2011 Hyundai Elantra, Lexus CT 200h hybrid, Nissan Juke, and Toyota Prius hybrid. The Civic, CT 200h, Elantra, Focus, and Prius have at least one version that gets at least 40 highway miles per gallon. The Dodge Caliber, Honda CR-Z and Insight hybrids, Nissan Sentra and Versa, Scion xD, and Suzuki SX4 also were rated but didn’t earn the top safety pick.