In was in the year 2014 when Global NCAP launched its #SaferCarsForIndia campaign under which it tested several India-made cars and most of them received a zero-star rating, including Maruti Swift, Ford Figo, Datsun Go, and others. Over the years we saw others with such poor safety rating and now the results of the 2019 crash tests are here. While there are no zero-starers this time, popular cars like Maruti Suzuki WagonR, Hyundai Santro and Datsun Redi-go have received two- and one-star rating, respectively. The fourth car to be tested was Maruti Suzuki Ertiga which did better with a three-star rating. All crash tests were conducted on the entry-level version of each car at 64 km/h.
With the new government order that makes several safety features mandatory in cars, occupant protection has improved a notch but the upward trend is rather slow with no cars receiving a four or five-star rating this year. Find below the crash test video from Global NCAP for all four cars:
Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Global NCAP Crash Test Video
The Ertiga achieved three stars for adult occupant protection and three stars for child occupant protection. The Ertiga offers two frontal airbags as standard.
Maruti Suzuki WagonR Global NCAP Crash Test Video
The WagonR achieved two stars for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection. The WagonR offers only a driver frontal airbag as standard.
Hyundai Santro Global NCAP Crash Test Video
The Santro achieved two stars for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection. The Santro offers only a driver frontal airbag as standard.
Datsun RediGO Global NCAP Crash Test Video
The RediGo achieved just one star for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection. The RediGo offers only a driver frontal airbag as standard.
Responding to the Global NCAP crash test result of the redi-GO, Datsun India issued an official statement, saying: “Safety is the key priority for Datsun. The Datsun redi-GO meets all safety standards and regulations in India and we will continue to invest in the brand towards offering high value and competitiveness.”
In July 2019, Datsun India updated the redi-GO with new safety features including rear parking sensor, high-speed warning, Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), and Seat Belt Reminder across its variants in line with the new safety regulations.
