I guess it's just the lack of any crumple zone, similar to the VW van your legs are essentially the crumple zone.

Sounds like some lack basic safety equipment like seat-belts.

It might be more about what vehicles share the road. SUVs and pickups tend to cause the majority of fatalities in crashes because their bumper height basically being non compatible with cars and vans and their larger blindspots... That design might not play particularly well with the Keis in crash situations.

But that being said SUVs and raised pickups are menaces to road safety across the board and we should be looking at phasing them out.

They don't pass US federal crash tests, probably because of the lack of crumple zone, so they can't be imported until they're 25 years old. Which doesn't make them any safer, but I guess rules are rules:

Because the trucks don’t meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, they’re legal to import only 25 years after having been manufactured. Then, it’s up to each state to decide whether to allow them on public roads.