Minicars Fare Poorly In Crash Testing

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The news isn't good for minicar buyers. The small, light vehicles performed poorly in recent crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

"We only have one out of eleven vehicles that didn't earn a marginal or poor rating," said Joe Nolan of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety .

That vehicle is the Chevrolet Spark, their 2014 Top Safety Pick, which was the only model to receive an acceptable rating.

Other popular models like the Honda Fit and Fiat 500 performed the worst.

The 40-mile per hour crash simulates what happens when the front corner of the car hits another vehicle or tree. The passenger compartment in many of the cars was compromised and the steering column pushed back toward the driver, potentially leading to serious injuries.

The institute said car companies have made significant improvements in larger car categories.

"The message we're sending to automakers is that we'd like them to implement changes like they've done in other segments," said Nolan.

Every minicar rated marginal or poor for structure. That is the most important component for passenger and driver protection.

The IIHS suggests that if safety is your main concern, you should consider buying a larger class of car which offers greater crash protection.