The Auto Writer

It weighs about 1800 lbs and is three feet shorter than a MINI Cooper, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has ruled that when it comes to crash tests, the Smart Fortwo holds its own.

In a series of tests conducted recently, the IIHS has determined that the car gets top marks for front and side impact crashes although it didn’t get the highest marks for whiplash protection. Whereas the first two categories revealed a “good” rating, the Fortwo was only able to receive an “acceptable” rating for the last category.

Even had the car achieved the highest rating for whiplash, the car would not have received the institute’s top safety award simply because it is too small.

The Smart Fortwo is the smallest car the IIHS has ever tested. “All things being equal in safety, bigger and heavier is always better,” said institute president Adrian Lund in a 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 IIHS is funded by the major automotive insurance companies.

(Source: IIHS.com)