Small cars worst for whiplash injuries

Tests looking at the performance of seats and head restraints in low speed rear end collisions, by the motor insurance research centre Thatcham, revealed that the cars, popular for their environmental credentials, were coming up short in terms of safety.

No city cars achieved a "good" rating, and only two - the Renault Twingo and the Smart Fortwo - achieved a rating of "acceptable".

Thatcham said the results were particularly worrying as these cars tended to be used mostly where traffic was heavy - where most whiplash injuries occurred.

"These cars need the best protection because they are smaller and lighter and more susceptible to high forces in a rear end crash," said a spokesperson. "These city cars are not equipped to protect their occupants' necks when they have to absorb the crash energy from larger, heavier vehicles."

The slightly larger "superminis" did not fair much better in the tests, with two thirds rated as "marginal" or "poor". Renault led the way with the Clio and Modus seats rated as "good".

'Improved seat designs'

For small and large family cars, such as the Ford Focus or Mondeo, the situation was better, according to Thatcham. Over two thirds were rated as "good" or "acceptable". For the SUVs and executive cars, such as the Peugeot 4007 and the BMW 5-Series, the majority were "good".

Thatcham said that overall, car buyers seeking a "good" rated seat for whiplash protection now had a wider choice than ever, but that they were forced to spend more in order to achieve protection from a minor crash.

The centre's research manager, Matthew Avery, said: "Although across the board we are seeing improved seat designs with around 75% of all new seats tested now achieving a good or acceptable rating, more can certainly still be done.

"City cars are not equipped to protect their occupants’ necks when they have to absorb the crash energy from larger, heavier vehicles which combined with poor seat design makes whiplash far more likely."

He added: "Good seat design is not something that should be inherently linked to higher value cars and this latest set of results will hopefully act as a catalyst for vehicle manufacturers to look at improving seat and head restraints design within this important and growing sector."

The full results of Thatcham latest whiplash tests, including an option to search by car manufacturer, can be found here.