In a series of crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently assessed how well the bumpers of 20 small car models would protect the vehicles from damage in low-speed collisions. The worst performers were the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Rabbit, each sustaining about $4,000 damage or more in a single test. The Ford Focus performed the best, with about one-third that amount of damage in its worst test.
"Small cars are supposed to be economical, but there's nothing economical about three or four thousand dollars in repairs after a low-speed collision," says Institute Senior Vice President Joe Nolan. "Ford did the best job of putting bumpers on a [...]