Mitsubishi Mirage, Chevrolet Corvette Top List of Most Dangerous Vehicles

A new study suggests that subcompact and sports cars may be twice as likely to be involved in an accident that results in a fatality, placing the Mitsubishi Mirage, Chevrolet Corvette and other similar vehicles at the top of a new list of the most dangerous vehicles on U.S. roadways.

The automotive research group iSeeCars released a new report this month, titled The Most Dangerous Cars in the U.S., identifying 14 vehicles that were found to be at least two times as likely to be involved in a fatal accident.

Researchers from the group collected fatality data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) from 2013 through 2017, comparing information on more than 25 million used cars from the same model year, to determine which ones were most frequently involved in fatal crashes.

Data indicates there were at least 14 vehicle models that were at least twice as likely than the overall average to be involved in a deadly crash, most of which were found to be subcompact or sports cars with smaller or faster vehicle designs.

The top two most dangerous vehicles were the Mitsubishi Mirage, reaching an average of 10.2 fatalities per Billion Vehicle Miles (BVM) traveled, and the Chevrolet Corvette was recorded second with 9.8 per BMV.

Subcompact and sports cars represented 12 of the top 14 most dangerous vehicles on the study’s list, citing that despite increased efforts and safety technology improvements, the smaller vehicles still pose a danger to the occupants.

The remaining vehicles on the list included the Honda Fit with 7.7 fatalities, the Kia Forte with 7.4, the Chevrolet Spark with 7.2, the Subaru BRZ with 6.9, the Nissan 370Z with 6.2, the Nissan Versa with 6.1, the Kia Rio with 5.9, the Dodge Challenger with 5.8, the Chevrolet Camaro with 5.5, the Kia Soul with 5.3, the Hyundai Veloster Turbo with 5.2, and the Nissan Versa Note  with 5.2.

The national average for all vehicle fatalities per billion miles traveled was 2.6, while subcompact cars averaged 4.5 fatalities and sports cars averaged 4.6 fatalities per billion vehicle miles.

Researchers found several of the vehicles included on the list including the Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Versa, and the Nissan Versa Note all received the lowest possible “poor” rating by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in certain crash safety tests.

Of the six sports cars that made the list, all were observed to receive “average” ratings by the IIHS for crash safety tests, and all were found to not have many advanced safety features beyond rear view cameras.

SUV’s were found to have 34 percent lower than average fatal incident rates, reaching an overall average of 1.7 average for all SUV collisions resulting in fatalities.

Despite having lower fatality associations, bigger vehicles do not always mean they are safer. Vehicle owners are encouraged to make sure the vehicles they are choosing to purchase are equipped with essential safety equipment and should always strive to include any available safety options.