In “Well of course it did, it’s a Volvo” news: the 2009 Volvo C30 was one of five two-door coupes to participate in the latest bout of IIHS safety testing, earning it a coveted spot on the IIHS TOP SAFETY PICKS list. Thanks singularly to the technology they hustled from Volvo, the Ford Focus also managed to walk away from the crash scene with stellar ratings, outranking its fellow test participants, the Chevy Cobalt, Scion tC, and Honda Civic.

“Overall the results for 2-door cars are good news,” explained David Zuby, Institute senior vice president for vehicle research . “All but one earn good ratings in our frontal offset test. Only 2 of the 5 earn this rating for protection in side crashes, but none of the 5 earns anything less than an acceptable rating. This is pretty good, considering how demanding the side test is. It simulates being struck by a pickup or SUV.”