Fiat has recently stated that with their purchase of Chrysler, the company will concentrate on making smaller cars. But smaller cars do not necessarily mean smaller repair bills.
A recent study by the U.S.-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) looked at bumper damage on seven different small cars. The tests modeled a full width hit, front and back at six miles per hour (about 9.6 kph), and a front and rear corner hit at three miles per hour (about 4.8 kph).
None of the bumpers on cars tested by the IIHS earned a top rating of Good. The Smart Fortwo got an Acceptable rating. The Chevrolet Aveo earned a marginal rating. The remaining five other cars (Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Mini Cooper and Toyota Yaris) got the lowest rating of Poor.
In terms of cost to repair, the Kia Rio is at the bottom of the heap. It had the most expensive single repair as well as the highest total damage ($9,380) for all four repairs. The front full bumper test resulted in a repair cost of $3,701. That's about 30 per cent of the purchase price!
If the big automakers are serious about raising repairability, they should seriously consider going back to the old style of shock absorbing bumpers.
Mike Davey,Editor