WASHINGTON (AP) -- The smallest car for sale in the U.S. market has been declared safe by the insurance industry.

The 8-foot, 8-inch Smart fortwo micro car has earned the highest rating in front-end and side-impact testing by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The tests show how well vehicles stack up against other cars of similar size and weight.

The institute's president, Adrian Lund, says all things being equal, "bigger and heavier is always better." But he adds, among the smallest vehicles, Smart car engineers designed a high level of safety into a very small package.

Lund says a small car may be more practical in congested urban areas where serious, high-speed crashes are less likely.

The micro car is more than 3 feet shorter and nearly 700 pounds lighter than a Mini Cooper. It gets 33 miles per gallon in the city -- 41 on the highway.