The IIHS published a study[0] a little more than a year ago which found that the Smart Car wasn't actually that bad in terms of driver deaths per million registered vehicle years (2011 and equivalent earlier models, 2009-12).
In its class (which only had 3 cars), the Mini was safer than the Smart but the Hyundai Accent was much much worse.
But there were lots of bigger cars that were at the same rating or worse:
In its class (which only had 3 cars), the Mini was safer than the Smart but the Hyundai Accent was much much worse.
But there were lots of bigger cars that were at the same rating or worse:
* Buick Lacrosse 2WD
* Cadillac DTS
* Cadillac Escalade 4WD
* Chevrolet Camaro
* Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ext 4WD
* Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Crew 4WD
* Chevrolet Suburban 1500 2WD
* Ford Expedition 2WD
* Ford F-150 Super 4WD 39
* Mercury Grand Marquis
* Toyota Avalon
* Toyota Tundra Crew Max 2WD
[0] http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/Driver_DeathRates_sr5001_e...