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Smart ForTwo Scores Well in Safety Test

But little car has very little crush space

By Joe Benton
ConsumerAffairs.com

May 14, 2008

The IIHS classifies as the Smart ForTwo as "microcar." The two seater is the smallest car the IIHS has ever tested.

The Smart earned top marks in side and front crash tests, according to the Institute but the “microcar” fell short of the sought-after Top Safety Pick designation from IIHS.

"All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better," said Institute president Adrian Lund in an statement. "But among the smallest cars, the engineers at Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package."

The Smart ForTwo has very little crush space in its short front end, according to IIHS. The ForTwo is about three feet shorter and 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper.

Despite its size, the car, earned the best possible rating of "Good" for front and side impact protection tests at the institute. IIHS credits the Smart's seat belts and air bags with helping minimize crash forces on the occupants.

The crash test dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the airbag during the front crash test however. The impact was not severe enough to affect the final rating, according to the test results.

"We recorded a high head acceleration when the driver dummy's head hit the steering wheel through the frontal airbag," Lund said, “indicating the test dummy used up all of the available ride down room in the Smart's interior.”

The car received mediocre marks for whiplash protection or an acceptable rating from IIHS.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) also conducted crash tests with the Smart ForTwo earlier in the year and reported a top rating of "Five Stars" for driver protection. NHTSA gave only "Three Stars" for passenger protection because the passenger side door opened during a crash test.

The driver door unlatched during IIHS crash test confirming the NHTSA results for the Smart, according to the IIHS. The opened door caused the institute to downgrade Smart's structural rating from good to acceptable.

“The opening didn't appear to affect dummy movement during the test and injury measures on the driver dummy were low,” according to IIHS. “Still, doors shouldn't unlatch because in some crashes it could allow partial or complete occupant ejection, especially if an occupant is unbelted,” the IIHS concluded.

"The big question from consumers is, ‘How safe is it?'", said Lund.

"People base their buying decisions on a lot of factors," Lund said. "If you drive only in congested urban areas where speeds are low, a small car may be more practical than a big one. We conduct crash tests so people who want small cars can choose the ones that afford the best protection."

The IIHS concluded that the Smart has a crashworthy design for its size and is equipped with the latest safety gear, which is especially important in a small car.

This vehicle's standard equipment includes seat-mounted combination side air bags designed to protect both the heads and chests of the driver and passenger. Also standard is electronic stability control (ESC), called electronic stability program in the Smart. ESC helps drivers maintain control during emergency maneuvers or on slippery roads. ESC engages automatically when sensing vehicle instability.

IIHS is convinced ESC lowers the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes by about half.

The Smart was designed for European roads where smaller vehicles are more common. The little car carries reinforced passenger cell and airbag systems.

Sales of the two-door Smart Fortwo began in the U.S. this year.

Penske Automotive Group, which is distributing the car in North America, has said it expects to sell up to 25,000 two-seat Smart cars in the United States in 2008.

The car gets 33 miles per gallon in the city and 41 miles per gallon on the highway. Smart has marketed the vehicle as a good choice for consumers fighting rising gasoline prices.

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