Passing the NHTSA and being safe are two extremely different things, in that the former certainly doesn't mean the latter in terms of customer satisfaction.

Smart cars passed the NHTSA safety checks, but the NHTSA still brought out a dire warning due to it only receiving a 3-star (now considered rare for vehicles) in a passenger side crash. It passed, but I doubt anyone wants to know that it's an entire grade less-safe than nearly any other vehicle on the road when it comes to passenger safety.

I'd trust an 1L further than a Smart due to the ability for a large side impact zone relative to any vehicle on the road while maintaining safety front and back. Like any car below a mid-size, I wouldn't buy it unless it had at least 4-star minimum, and I'd seriously reconsider anything without a 5-star. If the 1L gets all 5's, I'd buy it without a doubt.

My concern with NHTSA tests is that they're performed using an 'average' car (IE mid-size). A mid-size with a 4-star fairs much better against a pickup than a compact with a 4-star, when in reality it shouldn't. It's just a simple matter of well, matter and velocity. Then you've got to consider material strengths, aluminum used in car bodies typically has to be twice as thick as required to match the strength of steel due to it being too thin. This means aluminum vehicle frames are expected to increase vehicle safety two-fold, and I believe if used in the same dimensions as steel it would be a seven-fold increase in strength.