New Delhi: In the latest round of the Global NCAP tests, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has scored a five star safety rating while three of Maruti Suzuki’s most popular hatchbacks scored just one star.
According to the report, Mahindra’s Scorpio-N scored five stars for adult occupant protection and three stars for child occupant protection.
On the other hand, the Maruti Suzuki Swift scored just one star for adult and one star for child occupant protection. While the S-Presso and Ignis both scored only one star for adult occupant protection and zero stars for child occupant protection.
Mahindra Scorpio-N
Mahindra Scorpio-N l was tested in its basic safety specification fitted with two frontal airbags and ABS. Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and side curtain airbags are not standard however curtain airbags are standard in the majority of units produced. The lack of three point seatbelts affected the child occupant protection result, limiting it to only three stars.
The crash test agency said that for adult occupant safety during the frontal impact, the protection offered to the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck was good. Driver’s and passenger’s chest showed marginal protection. Driver’s and passenger’s knees showed good protection. Driver’s tibias showed adequate protection and passenger’s tibias showed adequate and marginal protection.
Footwell area was rated as stable. The body shell was rated as stable and is capable of withstanding further loadings. Side impact: head, chest, abdomen and pelvis protection was good. Side pole impact: curtain airbags meet the fitment requirements and pole impact test was performed in a version with side head protection airbags, showing good protection to the head, abdomen and pelvis, and weak protection to the chest.
The agency said the ESC meets the fitment rate requirements and the performance shown in the test was acceptable according to Global NCAP’s latest requirements.
For child occupant protection at frontal impact, the child seat for the 3 year old was installed rearward facing using the i-size anchorages and a support leg and it was able to prevent head exposure during the frontal impact offering full protection. The child seat for the 18 month old was installed rearward-facing using the i-size anchorages and a support leg and it was able to prevent head exposure during the frontal impact offering full protection.
For side impact, both CRS’s offered full side impact protection. The car does not offers 3 point belts in all seating positions. The car offers the possibility to disconnect the passenger airbag in case a rearward facing CRS will be installed in this position. Most of the CRS installation passed for the assessed CRS.
Maruti Suzuki hatchbacks
The three Maruti Suzuki models, Swift, S-Presso and Ignis, were tested in their basic safety specification with two frontal airbags and ABS. None of the three models provide ESC or side curtain airbags as standard or as optional equipment. All three models demonstrated unstable structures during frontal crash testing, NCAP said.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General, Global NCAP, said that it is of great concern that the manufacturer with the largest market share in India, Maruti Suzuki, still offers such poorly performing models, which don’t even make some key safety systems available to consumers in India as optional equipment.
David Ward, Executive President of the Towards Zero Foundation, said, “It is again disappointing that Maruti Suzuki has failed to match the safety progress being made by their competitors. At least now Indian Government regulations are forcing the company to apply minimum safety standards. But surely they should care enough about their customers to do much better than that.”
Saul Billingsley, Executive Director, FIA Foundation, said, “The failure of all three tested Maruti Suzuki models to achieve a safe rating showcases a disregard for the safety of Indian drivers, passengers and road users alike. The #SaferCarsForIndia campaign has shown how quickly manufacturers can adapt to meet Global NCAP’s safety standards and it is time for Maruti Suzuki to learn from other regional manufacturers like Mahindra.”
Global NCAP’s updated protocols assess frontal and side impact protection for all tested models, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection and side impact pole protection assessments are also required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.
The #SaferCarsForIndia campaign was launched by Global NCAP in 2014 for promoting safer vehicles in the country. Global NCAP is a programme of the Towards Zero Foundation, a UK based charity, working internationally in support of the new UN Decade of Action for Road Safety, with a goal of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.
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The Octavia that was tested was equipped with eight airbags, ISOFIX child seat mounts, a tyre pressure monitoring system, electronic stability control and eight airbags. Moreover, Octavia also got ADAS or Advanced Driver Aids System which is not on offer on the India-spec version.
The tested version is also produced in other ASEAN countries including Brunei, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. It comes with a 1.5L engine and is equipped with 2 airbags as standard across variants. But a majority of its markets also offer variants with 6 airbags.
