The Sonic isn’t just the most fun car to drive. It’s also designed with safety in mind.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave both the 2012 Sonic Hatchback and Sedan 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for safety^†— the highest rating possible.

“We developed Sonic to exceed customer expectations of subcompacts in terms of segment-leading safety features,” said Gay Kent, GM executive director of vehicle safety. “From the largest vehicles in our lineup to the smallest, we are putting overall crashworthiness and state-of-the-art safety technologies at the top of the list of must-haves.”

Some of the Sonic’s standard safety features include:

• Exceptionally strong body structure with more than 60 percent of the vehicle safety cage consisting of high-strength steel.
• The first and only car in its class^† with 10 standard air bags^† including sensor-activated head curtain side air bags that cover front and outboard rear seating positions.
• StabiliTrak electronic stability control helps the driver maintain control by applying the brakes or adjusting the throttle (or a combination of both) when necessary.
• Power-assisted front disc and rear drum brakes with antilock braking system, traction control and panic brake assist.