The Global New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) tested four cars for the Indian market, and the results were mixed. One receives a maximum of five stars. The other three only scored one star each.
The Mahindra Scorpio-N (video below) received a five-star score for adult protection with 29.25 points out of 34. However, it scored three stars for child protection due to the lack of three-point seat belts. Model gets 28.93 points out of 49 in this category. The evaluated vehicle has basic safety specifications with two front airbags and anti-lock brakes.
“Global NCAP congratulates Mahindra on its continued commitment to safety, achieving five stars for adult occupant protection under our new and more demanding crash test protocol,” said Alejandro Furas, Global NCAP Secretary General.
The Maruti Suzuki model is much worse. Swift (video at the top of the page) did the best of the bunch with one star each for the safety of both adults and children. It received 19.19 points for the evaluation of adults and 16.68 for children.
With 20.03 points, the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso did slightly better in the adult safety test, but this is still enough for a one-star rating. It was much worse in the kid’s evaluation with only 3.52 points and scored no stars.
Finally, Maruti Suzuki Ignis has only received a one-star adult safety rating and only 16.48 points. It did slightly better than the S-Presso in the kid’s evaluation scoring 3.86 points, resulting in a zero-star score.
The Maruti Suzuki model has basic safety specifications which include two front airbags. Neither of them offer side-curtain airbags, even as an option. Also, Global NCAP found the vehicle to have an unstable body structure during a frontal crash test.
“It is very concerning that the manufacturer with the largest market share in India, Maruti Suzuki, is still offering such a poor performing model, which does not even make some key safety systems available to consumers in India as optional equipment,” said Furas.
