THE ABSOLUTE SAFEST SMALL CARS RANKED BY RELIABILITY

The IIHS decided to crack down on the whole industry this year, basically slashing their award recipients list in half with a whole set of new criteria, including stricter standards for front crash prevention tech. Four small cars made the cut, retaining their Top Safety Pick+ awards: the Acura Integra, the Honda Civic sedan, the Toyota Prius, and the Mazda 3.

All four of these cars are pretty much as safe as it gets. We could split hairs and check out which one earned an extra point here or an extra point there. But safety's not your only concern when buying a small car. You're also looking for something that won't break down on you, and something that's cheap to fix when it does have an issue. So let's take the safest small cars in America and see how they compare in terms of reliability and repair costs.

What Do Their J.D. Power Ratings Look Like?

Note that, for the purposes of comparison, we will be sticking to the 2024 model years. The latest Civic to earn a Top Safety Pick+ was actually a 2025 model, but it is effectively the same car, with the same J.D. Power rating as the 2025 edition. The 2025 model simply hasn't been on the road long enough to generate any complaints or recalls with the NHTSA, which would make for a lopsided contest.

The Honda Civic takes an early lead with the highest J.D. Power quality & reliability rating by a fairly wide margin of four points over the Integra. The Integra is often referred to as "just a fancy Civic," but more bells and whistles means more stuff that can go wrong, so the relative simplicity of the Civic helps it to edge out its separated-at-birth twin on this one.

J.D. Power has yet to rate the 2023 or 2024 model Prius, but they reviewed the 2022 Toyota Prius, which kicked off the car's fifth generation, and there have been no facelifts or significant updates since then. There was a recall that only affected the 2023 and 2024 models, so it might be fair to guess that the newer Prius will be a point lower when J.D. Power gets around to that, but that isn't going to affect their ranking in fourth place out of these models.

So if you're keeping score, the Honda Civic wins the first round.

Who's Got The Most, Worst, And Scariest Recalls And Complaints?

The 2024 Acura Integra has yet to generate a single recall, but it draws the longest list of complaints, by far, at 53 total, with 48 of these pointing to issues with the steering. In pretty much all of these complaints it's the same story: the steering wheel seizes up, as if the power steering has completely dropped out. Where mileage is reported, the issue can occur with just a few thousand miles on the odometer. An investigation into the problem was opened in November 2023, with an engineering analysis currently in process to assess the "scope, frequency, and potential safety related consequences." This means they know there's a problem, and they're working on it.

18 of the Honda Civic's complaints are about steering, but for a different problem, with drivers reporting a clicking sound and a generally fidgety or jerky feeling. This resulted in a recall for 264,567 units, all 2022-2024 Honda Civics, with incorrectly assembled steering racks.

The Prius' most severe recall was for 55,600 2023 and 2024 models with bad seals leaking water on the rear door switch, causing it to unlock and open unexpectedly. The other recall was for an incorrect maximum weight capacity label.

As for the Mazda3, 11,903 units, including a number of CX-90s, were recalled in late 2023 for camera images failing to display. Another 672 units were recalled in September 2024 for forward sensing camera issues, which could affect automatic braking, steering assist, and headlight control.

Honda and Acura both took a loss for the round, especially the Acura, which has several drivers reporting steering issues and no recall available yet. The Mazda3 takes the win this time, with fewer recalled units in total, very few complaints, and with its most severe recall affecting fewer than 700 units in total.

What Does It Cost To Keep These Things Running?

The current-gen Acura Integra does not have a ten-year projected maintenance cost estimate yet, because it's a relatively new vehicle. That is, the fourth-gen Integra was sold in the US as the RSX, and was retired in 2006. The fifth-gen Integra was a relaunch for the nameplate, this time based on the eleventh-gen Honda Civic. Yes, it's essentially the same car, but, as a nameplate, it still doesn't have a proven track record to analyze for this round.

Honda takes the point here. It has the second-highest estimated ten-year maintenance cost, but it also has the second-lowest annual maintenance average, and some of the cheapest common repairs. The most expensive common issue on a Civic, according to RepairPal, is a brake booster replacement, which can cost you up to $767. In a Prius, you have to look out for head gasket replacements, which can cost you $2,349. A new engine front cover for a Mazda3 goes up to $824. The Integra has fewer expensive repairs listed with RepairPal, but remember that anything that goes wrong with a Civic will probably go wrong with an Integra once you put enough miles on it.

All of this being said, the Honda Civic does have more complaints on file with various maintenance websites than the other three. But it also sold 172,661 units in 2023, to the Integra's 15,207 units, the Mazda3's 25,447 units, and the Prius' 23,445. Frequency and severity are more concerning than sheer volume when comparing maintenance issues.

The 2024 Honda Civic Offers The Perfect Mix Of Safety And Reliability

The Honda Civic has suffered the biggest recall out of these four cars, but the important thing is that that recall is already in effect. If you go buy a 2024 Honda Civic from a dealership right now, chances are they've already handled it for you. If you buy a 2025 model, you might not have to worry about it at all.

As far as safety is concerned, for the 2025 model, the Civic's IIHS crash test ratings are, by and large, superb, earning a perfect score in the original moderate overlap test, with perfect G-for-Good ratings in every single category, plus a G for headlights, G for seat belt reminders, and G for small overlap front and side impact tests. The only mark on the car's record is an A-for-Acceptable for the updated moderate overlap front test, where it scored a G in every single category except for rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics, where it was dinged with an M, for Marginal.

Maybe you can find safer cars, maybe you can find more reliable cars, but you'll have a hard time finding a car in this segment that is both as safe and as reliable as an eleventh-gen Honda Civic.

Sources: Repairpal.com, NHTSA.gov, IIHS.org, Caredge.com, JDPower.com

2024-09-30T05:13:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd