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 small car that largely do what they're supposed to do. In 3 of the 4 tests, the bumpers on the Focus protected sheet metal and most other expensive parts from damage."
To assess and compare bumper performance in low-speed impacts, the Institute conducts a series of 4 crash tests -- full front and rear into a barrier designed to mimic the front or back bumper on another vehicle plus front and rear corner impacts. The full-width impacts are conducted at 6 mph while the corner impacts are run at 3 mph.
Bumpers have to be tall enough to engage, and to stay engaged with the bumpers on other vehicles in collisions, even during emergency braking. Otherwise the bumpers bypass each other when the vehicles collide, overriding and underriding so that crash energy goes right through and crumples the vehicle body.
According to the IIHS, the front bumper of the Focus is tall enough to do a reasonably good job in the full-width test. Repairs cost less than $600. In contrast, damage to the Elantra of nearly $5,000 in the same test is equal to almost one-third of the car's sales price.
"The Focus shows that decent bumpers don't have to be heavy or costly," says Nolan. "Many consumers are turning to small cars for better fuel economy, but damage in our tests approached luxury car territory. Savings at the pump could be more than offset by a single low-speed collision in one of these so-called economy cars."
This, of course, assumes the owner would pay repairs out of pocket. Reviewing annual coverage rates, we find that small cars are often $200-300 more a year to insure than larger vehicles. Ultimately, it is not just the repairs that lead to the higher rate, but also the greater risk of injury or fatality.
The IIHS does make the point with this latest study that for an incremental cost, the reinforcement behind the bumper cover could be extended side to side and provide added protection, without sacrificing cosmetics.
The list below ranks the total repair costs incurred in the low-speed IIHS tests.
$3,031 Ford Focus
$3,697 Scion xB
$4,135 Scion xD
$4,859 Mazda 3
$4,908 Nissan Sentra
$5,322 Dodge Caliber
$5,693 Subaru Impreza
$5,851 Suzuki SX4
$5,898 Saturn Astra
$6,152 Nissan Versa
$6,378 Mitsubishi Lancer
$6,805 Toyota Corolla
$6,853 Chevrolet Cobalt
$6,879 Honda Civic
$7,417 Chevrolet HHR
$7,589 Kia Spectra
$8,261 Chrysler PT Cruiser
$8,976 Hyundai Elantra
$9,070 Toyota Prius
$9,511 Volkswagen Rabbit
Learn more about automotive safety.