The upcoming Maruti Celerio has managed to create a lot of buzz and a lot of information about the vehicle is floating over the internet. Maruti Suzuki will showcase the Celerio, which is the A-Star and Estilo replacement at the 2014 Auto Expo in February and the launch will follow soon. Now coming to Latin NCAP, it basically provides independent crash tests and safety assessments of new vehicles launched in the Latin American and Caribbean region. It also encourages manufacturers to improve the safety performance on their vehicles along with encouraging the Government to apply UN vehicle crash test regulations for passenger cars.
The Suzuki Celerio (which is the name for the A-Star in South America) underwent the Latin NCAP crash test in July 2013. The A-Star scored 4 stars in the front adult passenger safety test and only 2 stars in the child passenger safety test. The A-Star is equipped with 2 front airbags and hence side impact tests were not performed on the vehicle. The A-Star comes with front driver airbag, front passenger airbag, ABS, front seatbelt pretensioners and ISOFIX mounts for child seats. The front impact tests are performed at a speed of 64 km/hr using dummies and the car is targeted towards a collapsible barrier.
The Indian Celerio will replace the A-Star/Alto and Splash (Ritz) in most markets. The car you see here undergoing the crash test is the made in India A-Star so the made in India Celerio will be subjected to a Latin NCAP crash test later this year. Given Maruti Suzuki’s lack of focus on safety, will the new Celerio beat the A-Stars’ 4-star NCAP rating? We really doubt but given the fact that the new car is a global model, to be sold in Europe as well, we expect it to get a 5-Star safety rating from both Euro and Latin NCAP agencies. Will Maruti cut corners again or will the Celerio be as safe as its rivals?
