IIHS Gives Small Cars Poor Marks for Bumper Collisions

IIHS conducted bumper tests on seven small cars to find out how well the bumpers would hold up in the event of a full-width hit at 6 mph, as well as front and rear corner hits at 3 mph. The answer is, not too well.

Out of seven cars, none received the top rating of Good. The Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Mini Cooper and Toyota Yaris all received the lowest rating, Poor, while the Chevy Aveo managed a Marginal rating and the Smart ForTwo was rated Acceptable thanks to its pre-painted, dent-resistant body panels, which are inexpensive and easy to replace.

How does IIHS make its calculations? Take the Rio, for example: The full-bumper test caused $3,701 in damage (30% of the car’s purchase price). Overall, total repairs to the bumper cost $9,380, which was the highest total in the test.

In order to receive a Good rating, each repair would have had to average less than $500.

Just something to keep in mind when buying a small car.