Smart ForTwo Comes Out on Top in Roof-Strength Test

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released the results of its first crash test to determine roof strength for small cars. Only one of the six cars tested — the Smart ForTwo — earned the top rating of Good. The Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Mini Cooper and Toyota Yaris earned Acceptable ratings, while the Chevy Aveo managed only a Marginal rating.

These new tests are important because they will be included in the 2010 Top Safety Pick awards that IIHS hands out. The roof tests require a car to withstand a force four times the vehicle’s weight per 5 inches of crushed area. That produces a strength-to-weight ratio. A ratio of 4 is the minimum to earn a Good rating, 3.25 is minimum for an Acceptable rating and 2.5 for Marginal. Anything below that is a Poor. The Smart Fortwo earned a 5.4 rating.

IIHS points to rollover crashes accounting for 10,000 deaths a year as the main reason to add the roof test to its side, rear and frontal crash tests. However, IIHS points out that while a strong roof helps prevent injuries after a rollover, the cars themselves should be more stable to prevent such accidents. The Smart ForTwo has a three-star rollover rating from the government, while the Fit, Cooper and Yaris have four-star rollover ratings.

Last year, 84 vehicles earned Top Safety Pick status, including the Honda Fit, which looks to lose that status with its score of Acceptable in the roof test. 

2009 Smart ForTwo Passion Video

It’s not often that a reviewer completely pans a particular vehicle. Usually we can find something redeeming to talk about, but for Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder, that wasn’t the case with the 2009 Smart ForTwo. Watch his video review of the only U.S. microcar to find out why he not only cannot recommend the ForTwo for any car buyer, but also why it frightened him.

Cars.com Reviews the 2009 Smart ForTwo

The Smart ForTwo has gotten a lot of press for being the first microcar to hit U.S. roads. Now that it’s entering its second year of production, what’s the verdict? According to Cars.com reviewer Joe Weisenfelder, it's not good. Normally, a confident driver who can find redeeming qualities in most vehicles, Weisenfelder found his entire outlook challenged by the ForTwo. Read his full review to find out why he thinks Smart’s experiment will fail.

2009 Smart ForTwo Review