I look at it this way: In the old days, after a crash, the car survived for the most part but the driver was killed. Now, the car disintegrates into a pile of rubble from which a dazed driver emerges relatively unhurt.
Generally speaking.
Yes up to the time of the COT standardized chassis, there was concern that the front structure was too stiff, which is great for vehicle handling but not necessarily crashworthy.
Now that design is standardized.