This is the question everyone has been asking since we first got news of the Smart’s arrival in the U.S. On sale since early 2008, the ForTwo has now been crash tested by the two leading crash-test organizations: the federally funded National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the independently funded Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
We prefer IIHS’ tests, as they more accurately depict what could happen in a crash on the road. OK, let’s get on with it: All said and done, IIHS rates the Smart with its highest rating, Good, in frontal and side-impact tests, and its second-highest, Acceptable, in its rear collision test. So that’s it, right? Not really.
From the KickingTires article “IIHS on the Smart ForTwo: Officially Safe?” author Jim Mateja writes:
“IIHS president Adrian Lund stopped short of saying the Smart is safe.
‘Among the smallest cars, the Smart engineers did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a small package,’ he said. Even so, while small cars are safer than ever, ‘the risk of death is higher in crashes of smaller, lighter models. All things being equal, bigger and heavier is better.’
“In front crash tests, the ForTwo bounced off a barricade like a pinball and could have crossed into another lane of traffic to be struck again. Lund said that because there isn’t a lot of frontal crush space, the Smart is very stiff to prevent intrusion into the passenger compartment. Because of that, it will bounce off what it hits in an impact.”
As for NHTSA results, which are not comparable to IIHS results due to the differences in testing procedures, the ForTwo scored four out of five stars in frontal tests for the driver and three stars for the passenger. Side tests earned five stars; however, a safety concern was issued for side collisions because a driver’s side door unlatched during impact and opened.
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