The Global New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) tested four cars for the Indian market, and there were mixed results. One received the maximum of five stars. The other three each scored just a single star.
The Mahindra Scorpio-N (video below) received a five-star score for adult occupant protection with 29.25 points out of 34. However, it scored three stars for child occupant protection because of the lack of three-point seatbelts. The model got 28.93 points out of 49 in this category. The vehicle being evaluated was in the basic safety specification with two frontal airbags and anti-lock brakes.
"Global NCAP congratulates Mahindra on its continuing commitment to safety, achieving five stars for adult occupant protection under our new, more demanding crash test protocols," said Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP.
The Maruti Suzuki models did far worse. The Swift (video at top of page) performed the best of the bunch with one star each for adult and child safety. It received 19.19 points for the adult evaluation and 16.68 for the kids.
With 20.03 points, the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso did a bit better in the adult safety test, but this was still only enough for a one-star rating. It did much worse in the child evaluation with a mere 3.52 points and scored no stars.
Finally, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis received just a one-star adult safety rating and only 16.48 points. It did a little better than the S-Presso in the child evaluation by scoring 3.86 points, resulting in a zero-star score.
The Maruti Suzuki models were in their basic safety spec that included two frontal airbags. None of them offer side curtain airbags, even as an option. Also, Global NCAP found these vehicles had an unstable body structure during the front crash test.
"It is of great concern that the manufacturer with the largest market share in India, Maruti Suzuki, still offers such poorly performing models, which don’t even make some key safety systems available to consumers in India as optional equipment," said Furas.
