Minicars fall short for small overlap frontal protection

[oj88]

News releases



It was a bit of a surprise that only the Chevy Spark got an "Acceptable" overall score while the Honda Jazz, among others, came in as "Poor".

Except for the Spark, all other minicars were either "Marginal" or "Poor".

This should rally up the car manufacturers to further improve frontal protection.

[niky]

The cars that fared worst are the oldest ones. Most of these cars were designed before the small overlap test was introduced. Honda has been planning for the small overlap test since people started talking about them in 2009, but the current Fit/Jazz started production in 2007 or so.

This test doesn't mean the cars are unsafe. It just means that this particular accident can bypass the crash protection given by the frame-rails. It requires most cars to be redesigned, either strengthened, or the construction or position of the frame rails has to be changed for the next generation.

[oj88]

Agree. I guess the subsequent models will already reflect design changes required to pass the new set of stringent tests.