I've seen my fair share of twisted ones due to the amount of breaking I have done over the years.
In most frontal impacts the chassis legs take the energy and distribute it into the bodyshell. Not uncommon for the roof to deform in heavy collisions but it's quite rare for the cabin to be affected.
If an EP takes a scelp up the backside the rear panel and boot floor usually bend. It's sometimes hard to spot but once the rear bumper is removed it's easy to see any damage. Watch for this type of damage when viewing a potential purchase, I've seen quite a few 'mint' EP's with rear end damage.
This is true for both EP8# and EP9# although Toyota went all safety conscious with the launch of the EP9#. You will find plenty of additional bracing on a Glanza to offer more protection in a crash situation. If you are planning on crashing a Starlet I'd advise you make sure it's a Glanza lol..
Naturally no-one can predict the factors and probabilities involved in every senario. I have seen some scary sights and would ask everyone to drive within their ability and road conditions. Here follows a 'worst case' senario where a combination of bad factors result in carnage.
Hopefully the following pics might reduce your speed and make you think before making a rash move:
This was not a normal crash so don't brick yourself and immediately sell up. The car took multiple impacts before coming to rest, the speed and angles involved would be hard to replicate. For those interested, one dead and four badly injured.
Please keep it sensible on the roads folks, a little respect is all it takes.
Jay