While Maruti continued selling thousands of units of the Swift in India, the Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) has been testing the hatchback for passenger safety. And the results are nowhere close to what the Vitara Brezza received in the previous month. The Swift has received just a two-star rating for adult as well as child occupant protection.
The main reason for this low rating has been attributed to the unstable structure, high compression to the driver’s chest, and poor feet protection due to pedal displacement on his side. The NCAP stated that “The Child Occupant Protection of only two stars is explained by the forward facing positioning of the 18 month old dummy in the test offering low protection and also the low protection offered to the chest of the 3 year old dummy.”
The third-gen Maruti Suzuki Swift gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and ISOFIX child anchorages as standard. Its European counterpart performed slightly better with three stars in terms of frontal crash test and packs additional safety features such as side and curtain airbags and electronic stability control (ESC), which are available as standard as per European norms.
The Euro-spec Swift’s bodyshell integrity was rated as stable in the Euro NCAP crash test last year. In comparison, the made-for-India Swift’s bodyshell was reported as unstable. Moreover, Euro NCAP crash tests are more stringent. This is a clear indication of better build quality of the European model over the same hatch produced in India.
Earlier in 2014, the India-spec second-gen Swift tested didn’t even have airbags (safety features were not standard) and scored zero and one star for adult and child safety, respectively. On the results, David Ward, Global NCAP Secretary General, said, “ The latest version (third-gen) of the Swift sold in India has improved and it is good to see dual airbags as standard. This confirms the beneficial effect of the Indian Government’s new crash test regulations. But the performance of the Swift sold in Europe and Japan shows that a better safety performance is still possible so Global NCAP would like to see Maruti Suzuki aim higher.”
Maruti had received quite a lot of applause a couple of weeks back for the good show that the Vitara Brezza put up with its four star rating. It’s worth noting that not a single made-in-India car has received a full five star rating in the Global NCAP tests so far. What do you think about the latest tests? Do you believe the made-in-India Swift’s safety features should be at par with the one sold in Europe? Discuss in the comments section.
Disclaimer: This article has not been edited by Deccan Chronicle and is taken from a syndicated feed. Photos: CarDekho.
