How you can downsize without compromise

In recent years, automakers have made progress in lowering the bumpers and crash structures of some of their largest SUVs, but crash incompatibility is still an issue.

Another safety feature to look for is electronic stability control, a lifesaving technology that has been found to reduce the risk of fatal single-vehicle rollovers by up to 80 percent for SUVs and 77 percent for cars, and could prevent nearly one-third of all fatal crashes, according to IIHS statistics. By automatically adjusting throttle and braking forces on each wheel, electronic stability control helps prevent skidding and spinning on slippery surfaces or during emergency maneuvers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's crash-rating system doesn't take into account the role of electronic stability control. But the NHTSA estimates that 10,000 lives would be saved annually if every vehicle had the technology. Electronic stability control will be required on all vehicles in 2012 and beyond.

Many small cars lack the feature, even as an option. "Nobody should ever buy a car without electronic stability control," says Dulberger.

Rader of the IIHS agrees and adds that electronic stability control is even more important in small cars because it can help prevent collisions, as opposed to just protect occupants during an accident, like airbags do. "If you can avoid the crash, that's even better," he says.

But the idea that small cars are more maneuverable and can more readily avoid crashes compared to larger vehicles isn't substantiated by crash statistics, Rader says. "Small cars tend to get in more crashes," says Rader, even when normalized for driving conditions and types of drivers.

Electronic stability also reduces the rollover concerns that accompany smaller but taller vehicles, especially for so-called crossover utility vehicles that offer versatile, spacious interiors while only taking up the parking footprint of a compact sedan or coupe. Rollovers are a factor in 33 percent of fatal accidents in the United States, according to safercar.gov.

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"There used to be a tradeoff with SUVs for rollovers, and that's really dramatically changing due to electronic stability control," Rader says, pointing to the Honda CR-V, Honda Element and Subaru Forester, all "Top Safety Picks" from the IIHS. With some exceptions, such compact utility vehicles are generally the safer bet today than traditional compact cars, which often share the same underpinnings. That's because their added weight compared to compact cars makes them inherently safer, Rader says, adding that crossover utility vehicles also tend to have more standard safety equipment.

Even compared to all those hulking SUVs on the road, smaller car-based crossovers are often a safer choice, particularly when looking at models like the mid-sized Chevrolet Trailblazer, which have been around for a while and don't have the latest advancements.

"Whether you go to one of these small utility vehicles or a small car, you're going to get better handling, a more compliant ride and more maneuverability," often with better safety, provided you pick one of the vehicles with the best crash ratings, says Consumer Reports' Linkov.

To compile our list, we looked at passenger-car and crossover-utility models less than 180 inches long and ruled out those without electronic stability control or side-curtain airbags as standard or optional equipment.

Disregarding any vehicles with less than four stars from the NHTSA or an 'Acceptable' rating from the IIHS in frontal and side crash tests, we selected 10 vehicles with top crash-test ratings, also paying attention to Informed for Life's Statistical Combination of Risk Elements (SCORE), which includes things like weight and rollover ratings and more accurately corresponds to fatality figures than do either the IIHS or NHTSA results by themselves.

SCORE ratings represent relative safety risk across all types of vehicles, so a vehicle with a SCORE of 50 represents half the fatality risk of a vehicle with a SCORE of 100. For the full ratings and more details, go to www.informedforlife.org.

See the “slide show” link above for a list of the safest vehicles for downsizing.

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