Earlier in the month, the Environmental Protection Agency released its list of the ten most fuel-efficient vehicles for model year 2009 (plus a list of the least fuel-efficient vehicles). We know that the ten vehicles on the EPA’s most fuel-efficient list will save you money at the gas pump and have reduced emissions over other vehicles in the class, but how will these vehicles fare in an automobile accident?

2009 Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius took the top spot in the EPA’s list of most fuel-efficient vehicles for 2009. In testing done under the oversight of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the United States Department of Transportation, the 2009 Toyota Prius received four and five stars in all of the categories. In a frontal crash, both the driver and passengers were rated as four stars. In a side crash, the front seat was rated at five stars and the rear seat at four. Rollover rates were also evaluated; the 2009 Toyota Prius has a 13% chance of a rollover in a single vehicle crash.

2009 Honda Civic Hybrid

The Honda Civic Hybrid is the second most fuel-efficient car for model year 2009. Like the Prius, the Civic Hybrid received four and five star safety ratings across the board. In a frontal crash, both the driver and passenger positions were rated at five stars. In a side crash, the front seat position was given four stars while the rear seat position was rated at five stars. The 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid has a 10% chance of rolling over in a single vehicle accident.

2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid

The 2009 Nissan Altima Hybrid scored out higher than the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrids in safety ratings. The Altima Hybrid received five stars in the four categories included in the front and side crash ratings. Like the Civic Hybrid, the Altima Hybrid also has a 10% chance of a single-vehicle rollover.

While these three cars and several others in the top ten most fuel efficient vehicles list performed above average in safety tests, not all on the list did. The Smart Fortwo scored three stars in the frontal passenger rating and although it scored five stars in the side driver rating, there was a safety concern noted (no details of the specific concern were available.) In addition, the Smart Fortwo has a 21% rollover chance during a single vehicle accident. For more information on safety ratings visit the safercar.gov website.

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