Suzuki has claimed that the safety offered by the South African S-Presso is better than its Indian counterpart.
In its reply to a tweet that raised concerns about the India-spec S-Presso’s Global NCAP safety rating, Suzuki Auto South Africa said the level of occupant safety between the Indian and South African versions are not comparable.
The S-Presso tested by Global NCAP for India was the lower grade variant that comes only with one airbag and no seat belt pre-tensioners, no ISOFIX anchorages and does not offer 3-point seat belts for all positions.
While the South African S-Presso (manufactured in India by the way) is yet to be crash tested and comes, as standard, with dual front airbags and front seat belt pre-tensioners as well as ABS.
According to Suzuki Auto South Africa, their local Suzuki S-Presso safety features such as the additional airbag and seat belt enhancements that come as standard make it a safer version.
However, its bodyshell integrity will only be known when crash tested. In comparison, the Indian version’s structure was rated unstable.
Such comments were unprecedented on Suzuki’s part and Twitter users have not taken them lightly. Many have questioned about the safety of Indian consumers who use the base variant S-Presso.
Read about the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso Global NCAP crash test results here.
Suzuki S-Presso Safety
- South African version of S-Presso said to be safer than Indian model
- Suzuki Auto South Africa claims this as it has better features
- The car is manufactured in India and has not been crash tested yet
