I would hazard a guess that this really has nothing to do with the "safety" afforded by the car's design and build, but rather that it is such a relatively small car in a world filled with big SUVs and pick-up trucks. It was for this reason that I convinced my wife to trade her Fiat 500 -- cute car, but if a bigger vehicle (which is about everything on the road these days) slams into that little car it likely won't end well for the occupants of the little car.