The 2014 Chevrolet Spark just hit the wall at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's proving ground, and has come out top of its class.

IIHS Top Safety Pick for Minicars

They say any crash you can walk away from is a good one. Today, 2014 Chevy Spark owners are sitting a little more comfortably after the minicar performed top of its class to earn the IIHS's Top Safety Pick award for 2014. While just a year ago, that may have seemed not such a big thing, the IIHS has continued to elevate the standards by which it judges automakers.

Chevyu Spark - Top in IIHS minicar safety

This year it added the small overlap crash test to simulate a vehicle striking an object offset from the front, where much of the energy absorbing crumple zones are less effective. Automakers have struggled to catch up to the new standard, but many models long thought safe fared less then stellar in the new test.

Even the Sonic's slightly larger siblings like the Chevrolet Sonic or Chevrolet Cruze have only passed Marginal scores in the front overlap, as well as larger competitors like the Toyota Corolla or VW Beetle. So for the Spark with a wheelbase of only 93.5" to rate a score of Good is quite impressive, and marks it as the first car in the minicar segment to earn Top Safety Pick honors under the more difficult requirements.

2014 Chevy Spark is Top Safety Pick for Minicars

“Spark’s impressive performance in IIHS’s most stringent test yet demonstrates the intensive efforts of our global safety team to deliver big safety in a small package,” said Gay Kent, General Motors general director of Vehicle Safety and Crashworthiness. “Spark’s safety structure makes extensive use of high-strength and ultra-high-strength steels and its robust passenger protection package includes 10 standard air bags.”

Because Chevrolet employs lightweight high-strength steel in over 62% of the Spark's under-body and 42% in it's upper body, it is better able to deal with a test like the offset, where traditional energy absorbents in the front-center are a non-factor. And with the help of 10 standard air bags, when areas of the vehicle did crumple serious injury was prevented.

However, the Spark didn't pass with flying colors either. The dummy's head was still able to contact the steering wheel in testing through the airbag, shaving the overlap test results from Good, to Acceptable with all other rest passing with top grades.

2014 Chevy Spark is Top Safety Pick for Minicars

So why was the Spark then not a IIHS Top Safety Pick+ winner despite the acceptable offset score? This year the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has added another requirement to its top level award: a crash Avoidance system.

In an effort to keep the budget minded Spark amongst the cheapest new cars, electronic nannies like auto breaking or forward collision warning were left off. The lack of electronic nannies doesn't however reduce the safety of the vehicle in a crash, but it does mean you'll have to be more attentive to avoid one and means the Spark gets left off for Top Safety Pick+ honors.

2014 Chevrolet Spark

So the final judgement? Given the car's rock solid price, great fuel economy, and now excellent safety record, the Sonic should now be on everyone's short list when shopping for a short car.