It's more than a belief... the statistics bear it out.
"The lowest 2015 death rate by vehicle type is for very large SUVs: 13 deaths per million registered vehicles. The highest is for mini cars: 64 deaths per million registered vehicles."
https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/are-smaller-cars-as-safe-...
The price point is incredibly low for the capacity and performance. Go price a high-end Ram/F-series/Chevy and be amazed that you can easily spend 65K on something you'd feel comfortable taking a date to dinner in. I was shocked by the first look, but the practicality is there. I'd buy one, if I wasn't in the "post-payoff" period of my SUV. If the incentives are there and fuel costs rise, I think I could convince my spouse.