What is the safest compact car?
On One Hand: Acura TL 4-DoorThe government performs crash tests on vehicles and posts the results on Safecar.gov and then gives a rating of 1 to 5 stars in several different safety categories. The Acura TL scored perfectly across the board on all tests, making it one of the safest compact cars in the eyes of the government.On the Other: Volkswagon GolfIn 2005, MSN reported on a study looking at auto fatalities and the correlation with different types of cars. While vans and SUVs generally had the fewest deaths, the Volkswagon Golf, an extremely compact car, seemed to have the lowest death rate among smaller cars, with a 45 deaths per million drivers. The closest car in a similar category was the Saturn Ion, with 67 deaths per million.Bottom LineStudies that take into account death rates can be interesting, but they do not necessarily account for driver behavior–the fact that risky drivers are attracted to certain cars. The safety rating system is a more objective standard, and looking
