Prius Preens, Sedona Shines In Tests

For the first time, the environmentally friendly Toyota Prius has been put to the test for safety and, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston, got high marks for most types of crashes.

And, he says, the Kia Sedona became the first minivan to get top grades for safety.

The Prius, a gas/electric hybrid car that doesn't pollute as much as other vehicles on the road, charges extra for side airbags.

But, Pinkston points out, results of tests done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety suggest it's money well spent.

The Prius earned the institute's top score in side protection. It also performed well in front crash tests, but didn't do as well when hit from behind.

"We think that the rear crash protection could be a little better, and there, we're looking at the risk of neck injury when you're hit in the rear, (say, if) you're stopped innocently at a traffic light and somebody bangs into you from behind," the institute's Adrian Lund tells Pinkston.

The latest round of tests by researchers at the institute focused on small cars and minivans, Pinkston points out.

Overall, he notes, cars and minivans are much safer today than they were just a few years ago. But experts recommend choosing optional airbags for extra protection in case of a serious accident.

The institute says improvements to the Sedona in the past few years make it the safest minivan on the road.

"The improvement that we see in the Sedona is really important because people really do buy minivans to protect their families and, so, it's really important that those vehicles in particular offer the kind of safety their families are looking for," Lund observes.

Other vehicles that got good safety grades include the Subaru Impreza and Honda Civic.

Underachievers included the Suzuki Forenza and Chevrolet Uplander.

The Uplander did reasonably well in most tests, except for a big problem described by Lund: "In the test, a (middle-row) seat actually becomes completely loose. Now, that's part of the restraint system. That just shouldn't happen."