Findings released this week from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that, across the board, small, fuel-efficient cars are getting safer.
Six of 13 small cars the industry group tested won the Top Safety Pick award, and none earned a "poor" rating in any of four tests.
The top picks included the 2011 Hyundai Elantra
This year's findings are a marked turnaround from just a few years ago when similar tests from the Virginia industry-funded group delivered frightening displays of crash test dummies slamming into windshields, and air bags deploying too late.
In 2006, only three small cars earned the Top Pick designation - the Honda Civic, Saab 9-2X and Subaru Impreza.
David Zuby, the institute's chief research officer, points to the Hyundai Elantra as a specific example of how far vehicle design in smaller cars has In 2001, the Hyundai Elantra was at the bottom of the list when it came to frontal-crash protection. Five years later, by 2006, the car was still performing poorly, earning the lowest score in the side crash test, even with side air bags added.
Fast forward to this year when the newly released 2011 Elantra came out on top in every one of the institute's tests.
"We hope that this makes a difference to people who are shopping in the market for smaller cars," Zuby said.
By ANNA WILD, KIMBERLY BERRYMAN and KATIE KINDELAN
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