The previous generation Hyundai i10 was tested for NCAP ratings and it scored a 4-star rating. Now the 2014 Hyundai i10, which is sold as the Grand i10 in India (with minor changes), has been put through the Euro NCAP crash test and the vehicle has got the same 4-star rating that the previous generation i10 received. However, one thing to note is that this is the global version of the Grand i10 and not the Indian version and hence there are some differences in safety specifications.
The variant of the second generation Hyundai i10 that has been tested comes with dual front airbags, side airbags for head and thorax and ESC. The i10 got a 79% score for adult protection, 80% for child occupant, 71% for pedestrian safety and 56% for safety assist. The test showed that adult occupants got adequate protection on all body parts. The rear door handle got slightly pulled up due to inertia and hence officials felt that the door was not properly latched when they were investigating the car after the test.
Coming to child occupants, the 18-month old child got a fair bit of protection in the frontal impact but the 36-month old child suffered impacts on the chest and neck. Both the child dummies got proper protection in side impact though. A child seat can be placed in the rearward position on the front passenger seat and Hyundai allows the driver to disable the front passenger airbag to avoid any sort of injury to the child in the unfortunate event of a crash.
[youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ydwNWD140k 540 375]
Coming to pedestrian safety, the front bumper provided good protection to the pedestrian’s legs. While the front centre part of the bonnet provided good protection, the stiffer edges provided poor protection. The A-pillars provided poor protection though. This particular variant of the i10 came with seatbelt reminders, ESC and a speed limitation device.
The Hyundai Grand i10 is sold in India and it comes with airbags as option on the top-end Asta variant only while the other variants only get seatbelts for safety. ESC is out of the question here. It is high time all manufacturers and not just Hyundai start providing basic safety features as standard in their vehicles.
