Wow, and I thought those twelve years as a CHP Officer handling collisions would allow me to make a remark that wasn't considered, "silly". Let me tell you - it isn't necessarily what you'll hit but rather the poor driver in the BIG SUV that will hit you.
Furthermore, new drivers statistically will be in more collisions. So whether it is some mom on a cell phone paying attention to the baby in the back seat who is crying instead of stopping for the vehicles at the red light or a new driver quickly accelerating into a new green intersection without checking to see if everyone else is going to stop for the red light - it is all the same, the little vehicle will be smashed by the big vehicle.
If it is my daughter, she will be in at least a mid-sized or bigger vehicle. I have too much first hand knowledge of what little cars: echos, civics, crx's, yugo's, samurai's, etc. look like after tangling with a another larger vehicle.
To suggest that an echo would be somehow just as safe or more safer than another much larger vehicle would be - well - would be what I expect a car salesman would say.
