Hyundai i10, Maruti Alto 800 and Tata Nano fails miserably in NCAP crash test. Ford Figo and Volkswagen Polo couldn’t pass the test though appreciated for featuring some structural rigidity.
Volkswagen adds airbags as std in all variants of polo and vento.
At the time india is finally looking to set-up it own crash testing centre in oragadam, chennai. Here comes another wake-up call which urges the government and industry body to act soon. Before going into the story two quick facts vicky.in wishes to remain its readers
1) Over 1,40,000 dies in road accident every year in india making
India’s road safety record is the world’s worst though india’s passenger vehicle market is still 1/10 of America and China
2) India is worlds 6th largest car market and 2nd largest motorcycle market yet we are the only country which do not have car safety testing procedure
Global NCAP decided to carry out a test on some of India’s best selling cars, in partnership with India’s Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE). The idea was to assess the safety levels of some of the country’s most popular small cars. This is not intended to spoil the image of made-in-cars by some western agencies. All the manufacturers and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) were informed of these tests, before they were held. Representatives from each manufacturer were also invites to witness the test, and the results are being shared with them all too.
* The per-requisite to pass the NCAP test is to have mandatory airbag but the selected variants for this test were base or entry variants which means none of the safety features were available except the seat belt
Hyundai i10 – Pitched as made in india for global market failed miserably at the NCAP crash test. Its surprising considering the fact European i10 (which is also exported from India) fared better. Experts wonder whether two kinds of cars are being made for india and exports
Tata Nano and Maruti Alto 800: The awesome car and Indias new favourite brought up no surprises by failing completely in all fronts
Ford Figo:
Figo shows reasonably better structural rigidity yet the lack of safety features grounded figo too
Volkswagen Polo:
Polo similar to figo has a safer cabin through some structural strength. Recently,the manufacturer added twin airbags to all its variants of polo and vento.
Finally the comparitive results among the failed cars
Polo is safer than Figo, figo is safer than i10 which is safer compared to nano and alto 800. Caution here is not to take the word “safety” as an option
What’s better lines to quote, other than from the global director of New car Assessment programme
This is very disappointing and partly due to the lack of airbags as standard, but the real problem is the substandard safety of their body structure. Body structures that collapse onto the people inside can have fatal or life-threatening consequences in real-world crashes. These zero rated cars are built by companies that produce good, safe five star cars and at affordable prices for buyers in other parts of the world. Now is the time for car buyers in India to be able to choose five star models that exceed global safety standards.