I know, it's silly because you'd be suprised how safe most new cars are, even the small hatchbacks. I once saw a crash-test for the Smart (which always struck me as a flimsy, unsafe car), I think it was on 5th Gear, and I was amazed that it could hit a wall at 70mph and the occupant would still have a good chance of survival.

The "seeing better" reason is really stupid.