Small cars high in safety stakes

It's my pet topic: cars that are affordable for youngsters yet have safety levels that help parents to rest easier.

When I tackled this topic in 2008, just one new car under $18,000 had a five-star safety rating.

My article was stinging. Most cheapies had a measly two airbags and few had electronic stability, which corrects a skid.
Some models, meanly, left out anti-lock brakes, which were invented shortly after the chariot.

So the least-safe cars were the very ones novice drivers could afford - an ideal safety recipe, I don't think.

About two years ago, I took another stab at the topic for WestWHEELS and Today Tonight, and guess what?
Ten cars under $18,000 had made the five-star grade. Brilliant. Kudos to car makers.

And now, in my latest charge at the light-car brigade, I can reveal we're entirely spoilt for choice.

The number of safe cheapies has rocketed to 27 models and, with such jostling, prices have plummeted.
The latest cheap-yet-safe champ is the Mitsubishi Mirage, at $11,500 plus on-roads which, amazingly, is way less than its price 20 years ago.

It provides parents who think their pockets might pay for any trouble with multiple insurance policies with a five-year-warranty, 10 years on the drivetrain, roadside assistance and fixed- price servicing.

Twenty-seven models going at each other also means already- cheap official prices are routinely discounted.
Last month the Mirage was at a sacrificial $11,990 and other specials I've noticed recently are the Fiat Punto at $13,000 and Kia Rio $13,990, all prices drive away.

Some people could buy those on credit cards.

With such price tags, it's no wonder the Australian car- making industry will soon be shutting shop.

Quite recently, we accepted the little cars were cheap and cheerful - you paid for what you got, which didn't include safety.
But, now, littlies under $18,000 without five-star surety are the exceptions.

The tiny list includes the Nissan Micra, Suzuki Alto and Holden Barina Spark (four stars) and Chery J1, Proton S16 and Geely MK (three stars).

With so many five-star alternatives costing not much more, why would you go there?

What you need is easy on the pocket, easy on the nerves and - reassuringly - now you're spoilt for choice.

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OK, so the Mirage is the cheapest safe car but what if it doesn’t grab your begotten’s sense of style? Women generally have few hang-ups about small cars, so the challenge here is to keep our sons on side.

That’s because True Blue males have tended to equate the muscle and thrust of their cars with masculinity. However, it’s changing with many Gen Y-and-beyond guys, whose main focus might be the cabin gadgetry. Here’s my best effort at adjusting to the car-buying psyche of someone aged 17-25.

ITALIAN INDIVIDUALITY
F stands for funky and Fiat, which has four five-star models under $18,000, beginning with the iconic 500, or Bambino, at $14,000.
But an even bigger head-turner is the $17,900 cabriolet version, a mango-coloured model recently drawing smiles wherever I drove it.
Deeply involving is the Panda, with more styling quirks than any car within cooee of its $16,500 price tag.

The fourth Fiat is the $15,900 Punto, a sporty hatch with unisex appeal.

TEUTONIC INTEGRITY
German-engineered cars are revered yet the second-cheapest car in my line-up, at $13,990, is the Up!, a product of Volkswagen.
Its star turn is automatic braking at city speeds to avoid rear-enders, though your beloved should still stay off their smart phone!
The brand’s Polo, starting at $16,990, is also ripping value.
German, too, is the $15,825 Ford Fiesta, which has heaps of styling and driving-dynamics appeal.
Skoda is based in the Czech Republic but is Volkswagen-owned and its $17,990 Skoda Fabia turbo will put a smile on young faces.

I would have added a French Flair category to honour the otherwise delightful $16,750 Renault Clio had they not forgotten to provide airbags for rear occupants.

KOREAN CRED
Hyundai and Kia carry no baggage with young people, who love their up-to-the-minute technology, svelte shaping and stylish interiors.
The brands also speak to parents with five-year warranties.

At a glance, I often mistake a $15,290 Kia Rio for a European car while the $16,990 Hyundai Accent is also a hot looker.

A GOOD CLIP
The other option is to threaten offspring with dire consequences if they don’t go for bulletproof Japanese cars, such as the Toyota Yaris. Girls love the Mazda2’s styling while I admire the Honda Jazz’s unparalleled visibility and interior space, designed by Mandrake the Magician.
The $15,990 Suzuki Swift looks like a mini Mini, with strong potential appeal to boys as well as girls.
If your boy doesn’t like to show off his metrosexuality, insist the similar-priced second-hand Commodore or Falcon they must have has six airbags and stability control.

That, too, would put the family on the right side of safety.

FIVE-STAR CHEAPIES
Mitsubishi Mirage 5-dr hatch $11,550
Volkswagen Up! 3-dr hatch $13,990
Fiat 500 3-dr hatch $14,000
Proton Preve $15,490
Volkswagen Up 5-dr hatch $14,990
Honda Jazz 5-dr hatch $14,990
Toyota Yaris 3-dr hatch $14,990
Holden Barina 5-dr hatch $14,990
Kia Rio 3-dr hatch $15,290
Holden Barina 4-dr sedan $15,490
Toyota Yaris 5-dr hatch $15,690
Mazda2 5-dr hatch $15,790
Ford Fiesta 5-dr hatch $15,825
Fiat Punto 5-dr hatch $15,900
Suzuki Swift 5-dr hatch $15,990
Hyundai i20 3-dr hatch $15,990
Kia Rio 5-dr hatch $16,290
Hyundai i20 5-dr hatch $16,490
Honda City sedan $16,490
Fiat Panda 5-dr hatch $16,500
Renault Clio 5-dr hatch $16,790
Hyundai Accent 5-dr hatch $16,990
Volkswagen Polo 5-dr hatch $16,990
Nissan Almira sedan $16,990
Ford Fiesta sedan $17,490
Fiat 500C 2-dr convertible $17,900

Skoda Fabia 5-dr hatch $17,990

• Add on-road costs to all prices.