Three years ago, a friends 3 month old commondoor, with wife and baby inside, was squashed in a three way on the Pacific highway (no fault of his wife). They had to be cut out but were ok, with the only injuries being cuts and bruises and whiplash to the wife. Fire rescue told him that if his family had not had that car with its size, crumple zones, airbags etc they would have been severly injured or killed.
Lesson learned: Number ONE priority: buy as safe a car as you possibly can. You don't wont to live to regret it!
Sometimes, size (and features) does matter.
Cheers, avo