The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tested the tiny Smartfortwo for crash safety.
[The Smartfortwo] earned the top rating of good for front and side crash protection. Its seat/head restraints earned the second highest rating of acceptable for protection against whiplash in rear impacts.
Larger cars are always safer than smaller cars
But among the smallest cars, the engineers of the Smart did their homework and designed a high level of safety into a very small package.
This is one of many reasons I reserved one almost two years ago. I’ve been driving mine now for almost 3 weeks, and am loving it. It’s a great little car, get great gas mileage, and is perfect for me. I certainly don’t need a 4-person car just to tote me back and for to work every day, and around town after work for shopping at times.
That said, this isn’t the perfect car for everyone. But it makes a great primary car for a single person or a couple that either isn’t planning on having kids soon, or are empty nesters. It could make a great second card for just about any couple.