The fine print: Only cars from model years 2013-2017 in crashes that resulted in occupant fatalities between 20 were included in the analysis. Nissan Versa Note: 5.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.Hyundai Veloster Turbo: 5.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.Kia Soul: 5.3 cars per billion vehicle miles.Chevrolet Camaro: 5.5 cars per billion vehicle miles.Dodge Challenger: 5.8 cars per billion vehicle miles.Kia Rio: 5.9 cars per billion vehicle miles.Nissan Versa: 6.1 cars per billion vehicle miles.Nissan 370Z: 6.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.Subaru BRZ: 6.9 cars per billion vehicle miles.Chevrolet Spark: 7.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.Kia Forte: 7.4 cars per billion vehicle miles.Honda Fit: 7.7 cars per billion vehicle miles.Chevrolet Corvette: 9.8 cars per billion vehicle miles.Mitsubishi Mirage: 10.2 cars per billion vehicle miles.“However, these safety features aren’t a substitute for safe driving, which is your best defense from a vehicle fatality.”Ĭars With The Most Fatal Crashes, 2013-2017 Model Years “By selecting a vehicle with favorable crash test ratings across the board as well as with active safety features, you are more likely to be protected in the case of a serious acciden, Ly advises. In most cases, the vehicles that recorded the highest fatality rates are those that scored poorly in crash tests, especially those conducted by the IIHS, and offered little in the way of advanced safety features. The pickup truck from the 2013-2017 model years having the highest fatality rate is the midsize Nissan Frontier at 3.9 cars per billion miles recorded. At the top of that list is the Kia Sportage with a fatal accident rate of 3.8 cars per billion vehicle miles. While SUVs have a fatal accident rate that is 34 percent lower than the overall average, compact and subcompact models tend to have the highest fatal accident rates within the segment. “Passenger cars also have a higher fatal accident rate than trucks and SUVs, which are larger vehicles.”Īt that, size likewise matters among sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks. “Subcompact cars have a fatal accident rate of 4.5 cars per billion vehicle miles, which is almost double the overall average, (while) sports cars are the vehicle segment with the highest fatal accident rate of 4.6 cars per billion vehicle miles,” says iSeeCars CEO Phong Ly. The average among all vehicles is 2.6 fatalities per billion vehicle miles. Sitting atop the list is the subcompact Mitsubishi Mirage, with a fatal accident rate of 10.2 cars per billion vehicle miles, followed by the venerable Chevrolet Corvette with 9.8 cars per billion vehicle miles. And sports cars are just plain built for going fast and driving aggressively – nobody buys a low-slung speedster just to pilot passively to church on Sundays. All else being equal, the laws of physics dictate that larger and heavier vehicles inherently protect their occupants in a collision better than will smaller and lighter ones. Perhaps not surprisingly, all of the vehicles on the list are either small cars or sport coupes.