The Global NCAP ratings list shows Indian carmakers aligning to upcoming safety norms.
In the compiled Global NCAP test results between 2014 and 2018, India has got its first 5-star safety rated car – the Tata Nexon (all variants). The car comes with 2 airbags and provides the highest protection for the driver and the child at 16.06 points out of 17 and 25 points out of 49.
The Nexon is followed by the Mahindra Marazzo, Toyota Etios, Tata Zest, Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Volkswagen Polo in that order, all of which get a 4-star safety rating. The vehicles all reported to have stable body shell integrity. They all come with 2 airbags. The Volkswagen Polo however, scored above the rest for child protection.
The 4-star rated cars are followed by the 3-star rated cars, which are the Ford Aspire, Honda Mobilio and Renault Duster. While base variants of the Ford Aspire and Honda Mobilio come with 2 airbags each, the base variant of the Renault Duster comes with only 1 airbag.
There is only one 2-star rated car, and surprisingly it is also the most selling car of November 2018. The Maruti Swift, despite coming with two airbags offers low protection to its passengers. The vehicle’s body shell integrity also was reported to be unstable.
For the 1-star safety rated car class, there was only one candidate – the Renault Kwid (IV). It came with one driver airbag and offered poor protection to the child and other passengers. Reinforcements to the structure were done only for the driver side and not on the passenger side.
The remaining cars in the list which received zero-star safety ratings do not come with airbags except for the Renault Kwid (III) which tops this list with one airbag. The other cars that follow are the Renault Kwid (II) and (I), Volkswagen Polo (without airbags), Ford Figo, Maruti Eeco, Hyundai Eon, Maruti Alto, Renault Duster (without airbags), Mahindra Scorpio, Renault Lodgy, Datsun Go, Chevrolet Enjoy, Tata Zest (without airbags), Maruti Celerio, Honda Mobilio (without airbags), Maruti Swift (without airbags), Hyundai i10 and the Tata Nano.
Driver protection is rated zero in all these vehicles but the Tata Nano rates zero in child protection too. In this class, the Volkswagen Polo (without airbags) gets a 3-star rating for child protection which is the highest.
It is the first time that India is getting a 5-star safety rated car. We can hope that in the coming future, carmakers will also accommodate passenger safety as one of the important criteria when launching products so that in the future, safety won’t have to come at an extra cost.
Global NCAP Ratings Of Indian Cars
– Tata Nexon is the first Indian 5-star safety rated car
– The Tata Nano is the least safest car, offers zero protection
– Indian automobile players adding more safety features to their cars
