Safest Cars

Kia Sedona

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has released its report on crash tersts of small cars and minivans. In the minivan category, the Korean-made Kia Sedona earned the Institute's "Gold Top Safety Pick" award, getting top marks for front crash, side crash and whiplash protection. In the small car category, the Subaru Impreza, the closely-related Saab 9-2X and the Honda Civic earned "Gold Top Safety Pick" awards.

The institute also tested Toyota Prius gas/electric hybrid vehicle and according to the report, the car got top marks for front and side impact protection when equipped with optional side airbags, but without side airbags, its side impact protection was "Poor".

In the minivan category, the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna and Nissan Quest minivans all earned "Good" ratings for front and side impact protection. The worst-performing minivans in were the Dodge Caravan, the closely related Chrysler Town & Country and the Mazda MPV. The poorest-performing small cars were the Suzuki Forenza and Reno, Saturn Ion and Kia Spectra.