Car with the best safety features ?

[Dose]

Originally Posted by joecherian

if the low end safari ( which does not boast of any passive safety features like ABS,airbag) has a head on collision (pray that accidents shouldn't happen in this world) with a ANHC, which one is likely to have lesser damages to person and vehicle ?

joecherian, let us forget about vehicle damage. Passenger injury is far more important, imho. Unless you can see the future, you have no idea if you will be involved in a head-on crash or not, and if it will be a single or multiple vehicle crash, and if, in the case of a multiple vehicle crash, that oncoming vehicle will weigh more, less or the same as your vehicle. In a single or multiple vehicle crash, you have no idea if you will also rollover, hit a wall, tree or concrete pole either in a front, side or rear impact.

Which is why it is wiser, imho, to buy the car with the highest overall active and passive safety and that the benefits of all those safety features are confirmed by independent crash testing. There is only one vehicle below 10 lakhs that meets all the criteria currently -- the i20 Asta-O.

Buying the heavier vehicle does not guarantee less damage to oneself and one's passengers. Unless the heavier vehicle has been engineered correctly, please remember that the weight can be used against you if you are ever involved in a single vehicle crash like a rollover. Even if you buy a heavier vehicle, there is always going to be someone who has either a heavier or lighter vehicle than you.

To answer your question, if you are lucky enough to weigh twice as much as the oncoming vehicle and you and your passengers are wearing seatbelts, you have the higher probability of sustaining less injuries compared to the lighter vehicle and its occupants. So, if you are driving a Safari which hits a City in a head-on, offset, manner, since the Safari weighs almost twice as much, you will probably get away with less injuries provided everyone wears seatbelts. And if you are unlucky enough to hit a vehicle that weighs twice as much as your Safari, you have the higher probability of sustaining more injuries compared to the heavier vehicle and its occupants provided all are wearing seatbelts.

If you hit, at 55 Kmph, another Safari with your Safari, there is no weight advantage, but plenty of disadvantages and unknown factors since Tata vehicles have not been subjected to Euroncap, IIHS, safercar.gov, and other public, reputable type of tests. If you hit another City with your City, again no weight advantage but at least the City is based on the Fit/Jazz platform which has been crash tested and has been shown to yield better results than some other cars.

Now add to this calculation that the Safari, like most non-safety oriented SUV's, probably does not have a roof that can support its own weight as well as most cars can during a rollover. Therefore, in a rollover, the City has a higher chance of not breaking the belted passengers' necks and backs compared to the Safari.

Buy the vehicle with the best overall safety within your budget and hope that you hit a vehicle in the same weight and height category if you are ever involved in a head-on accident.

Between the City, i20 Asta-O and Safari, I recommend the i20 Asta-O first, the latest City second, and the Safari last.

[Dose]

In the 50 years since US insurers organized the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, car crashworthiness has improved. Demonstrating this was a crash test conducted on Sept. 9 between a 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air and a 2009 Chevrolet Malibu. In a real-world collision similar to this test, occupants of the new model would fare much better than in the vintage Chevy:

IIHS Crash test article, additional pictures and video

YouTube - IIHS 50th Anniversary Crash Test

[patil]

in my opinion the i20 asta o either petrol or diesel is the safest available car below 10 lacs in india at present. the features of the car such as six airbags abs ebd etc speak for themselves and moreover the car has been rated with 5 stars by euro ncap for passenger, pedestrian and child safety. if any one knows better safe cars in the said price bracket please suggest.

[A350XWB]

I think as of today, the i20 Asta(O) offers the best safety features within the 10L range. It has a 5* rating in EuroNCAP (new rating system) and actually offers the same car here in India unlike other manufacturers. No other car in this price range offers side and curtain airbags in India. So, it has to the i20.

[anuprav]

i20 Asta (O) is the safest car.

Fabia is also strong built car but with only two airbags

[Dose]

To be eligible for the IIHS 2010 Top Safety Pick award, vehicles must now undergo a roof strength/rollover test. Imho, this is good news and I hope the Euroncap follows the IIHS' example.

The USA 2010 C-class gets a knee airbag and a rollover sensor. As a result, the C-class is now the safest car in its segment according to the IIHS. Unfortunately, the India version does not get the same features despite Indians paying more.

And Toyota's safety seems to be slipping. Ford is now the IIHS safety leader.

Sources:
IIHS vehicle ratings
IIHS-HLDI: Mercedes C class
Toyota fails to land 'top safety pick' rating in insurance-group study

[viper_711]

Originally Posted by Dose

If you hit, at 55 Kmph, another Safari with your Safari, there is no weight advantage, but plenty of disadvantages and unknown factors since Tata vehicles have not been subjected to Euroncap, IIHS, safercar.gov, and other public, reputable type of tests. If you hit another City with your City, again no weight advantage but at least the City is based on the Fit/Jazz platform which has been crash tested and has been shown to yield better results than some other cars.

.

Maybe slightly OT here but do check this link: Tata Safari - Safari DICOR
Check the section under 'crash worthiness'

[Dose]

Originally Posted by viper_711

Maybe slightly OT here but do check this link: Tata Safari - Safari DICOR
Check the section under 'crash worthiness'

Definitely on topic for this thread. Thanks for the link, viper_711.

This is the year 2009 not 1974. Directive 74/297/EEC seems to be something about "interior fittings of motor vehicles (the behaviour of the steering mechanism in the event of an impact.)" It was adopted by some council in 1974 which is ancient by today's safety technology.

Imho, it is a weak attempt by Tata marketing to convince Indians that the Safari is safe. Anyone who bothers to check should be disgusted that a 2009 Safari's safety is measured by 1974 standards. And if Tata has the money to buy Jag, and Ratan is supposed to be so great, why can't they/he produce at least one vehicle that is able to go toe-to-toe with the safest vehicles tested by Euroncap and IIHS? In stark contrast, a company like Hyundai was nothing special years ago. But today, they make a very safe car like the fantastic i20 Asta-O and they are making it in India and selling it in India. Three cheers for Hyundai!

Sources:
Directive 74/297/EEC - Automotive - Enterprise and Industry

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 74/297/EEC