[magnanimousdude]

Indian Roads does not need 5 star safety!!! cars, however if you manage to get those cheaper then go for it!!!. mostly city driving is not going make the Odo to cross 35kmph, so check for the requirement before getting a car

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

What a discussion? Most Indians would say, put a Ganesh idol on the dashboard. It will ensure safety better than any airbags or EuroNCAP tests.

However, on a more serious note, I think its mere speculation as to which one will fare better in the face of a head on collision. There are way too many variables in an accident and whatever people express here is just their personal opinion not scientific research.

Important thing is to belt up and drive safe. Indian roads and driving conditions are amongst the worst in the world and its a miracle that we dont see more fatal accidents here.

Like i said in the beginning this is about choosing the best car wrt safety for someone with a limited budget. Yes, what's expressed by members are their opinions i too did not expect more but maybe an informed guess.

But if i was going to buy any of these two cars i shall go for the structurally better engineered car reason because not all accidents need to be head on and deploy the airbags but having a strong structure around you might let you live. I might be wrong in my thinking, if so guide me. Shishirbn's Matiz accident is what comes to my mind.

Originally Posted by magnanimousdude

Indian Roads does not need 5 star safety!!! cars, however if you manage to get those cheaper then go for it!!!. mostly city driving is not going make the Odo to cross 35kmph, so check for the requirement before getting a car

magnanimousdude, dude i hope that you were not really serious about what you just said!

[GTO]

Originally Posted by magnanimousdude

Indian Roads does not need 5 star safety

Ridiculous. India has amongst the world's highest accidental death to vehicle ratio in the world. You need 5 star safety as much in the city as out on the highway. Ever been T-boned by a truck at a 4 way junction even at 50 kph?

The thing about safety features & standards is....you don't miss them until you are in a major accident. That's when you realise : retrospect is always the genius.

[ownerofazkaban]

Thanks Sankar for starting on this Topic. I feel anybody who was a budget in the boundary line across segments has this delemma,

Regarding safety I would presume its always better to get a fully loaded lower segment model than a basic higher segment model.

Sample this a basic high end model would not have the extra brake assist, ABS which is more important in day to day life and help in saving those 'Re' s and on insurance NCBs
- moving away from green signals and somebody just stops when everybody is accelerating
- a dog running across on every free road one gets to push the throttle
- following a Tata ace/BTS/Volvo bus and they just devide to stop in middle of road ....

Its not always a major accident that needs those safetly features, and then having a fully loaded car helps in resale value too and one can better enjoy the car,

- Going thru car security checks everyday to Work ? Do you want to get down everytime ?
- Going to movie/mall anywhere we run into security checks and all those pain points which can be eased by those fully loaded versions of car.

I think one major point against lower segment fullyloaded cars is the space, seating confort of the higher segment car.

HTH

[jkdas]

A-Star ZXi below 5las hatch & i20 (O) pack 7-8 lac hatch.

Hope they all launch one with a seat that ejects off in the case of accident

[ampere]

I had this exact dilemma when getting a car for my dad. But I had to give it away to the Ritz LXI because, of the back seat reason and not anything else. Since the vehicle mostly driven in the city and my dad does not much, I thought Ritz is better option than ASTAR. But having said that I do agree that a highest end lower segment is better than lowest end next segment. But we DO need to qualify that statement with our requirements.

[rajathv8]

Sorry to bump an antediluvian discussion. Since the subject of safety does not have a deadline I would like to pen my thoughts.

I had made up my mind to buy a Nano until I started considering safety. Since then I have spent several hours studying crash videos and safety features/technologies in cars.

I would judge the two cars in question based on analysis in four areas :

1. Ability to avoid an accident :
a. A* is equipped with ABS which will allow the driver to maintain control of the car in panic braking situations where the Ritz would lock up and hurtle the vehicle in a potentially fatal bearing.
b. The EBD, which modulates the break force applied depending on the load at the respective wheel, in the A* will help braking in corners/ghat sections.
c. Apart from the above, A* being a lower car with better handling characteristics gives it a teeny tiny increase in advantage over the Ritz.

A* wins with its ABS+EBD combo. Consider a situation where a non-enthusiast or new driver is at the wheel, someone who doesn't know about wheel locking. It could be your sister/wife/daughter driving perhaps. One may argue on the lines of "I will be the only one driving the car and I can drive without locking the wheels". I agree, it is possible to drive carefully. I for one ride and brake appropriately to not lock up the disc on my Bajaj Discover 135. However there may arrive a situation where one can forget (we are humans after-all and not robots), or where someone else takes the wheel. A fatal accident happens only once. The ability of the car to help them maintain control is a boon in my opinion.

2. Ability to "absorb" a frontal collision :
The crumple zones in both these vehicles are good at absorbing the impact. The Euro-NCAP videos show that in both the vehicles the A-pillar does not deform on impact, passenger cell remains intact and doors can be opened after impact.
A* = Ritz

3. Active safety in event of a frontal collision:
The crumple zones can only alleviate the consequences of a crash to an extent. Inertia in a crash would inevitably propel the occupants irrespective of the vehicle in question - A*, Ritz, A8, Boeing 777, WDM2 ...
In several, if not all, frontal collision crash videos the occupants head hits the hard dashboard.
a. The Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) seat-belt will prevent the occupant from moving forward. Although both cars are equipped with ELR, the seat belt pre-tensioners in the A* takes things notch higher by pulling the seat belt tight i.e pull the occupant into the seat and away from the dashboard. These are designed to fire in sync with the airbags.
b. As car impetuously slows down, the load on the belt increases. In other words the force exerted by the seat belt on the chest and abdomen increases drastically. This in-turn can cause damage to internal organs. To avoid internal organ damage, seat belt load-limiters ease out the seat belt by causing a distortion in the seat belt reel.
c. The seat belt does not restrain the head, which is on a flexible neck. The neck flexes, the head continuous to move forward and may come in contact with the dash. In this instance, airbags are vital to prevent head injury.
Since the A* Zxi is equipped with seat belt pre-tensioners, load-limiters and dual air bags, while the Ritz Lxi does not, the A* takes a giant leap ahead in terms of safety.

4. Others:
Since front impacts are more common than rear/side impacts and since a worst case collision is a frontal collision (highest relative speed is when two vehicles moving in opposite directions collide), it deserves the two previous dedicated points. All other collisions are part of this point.
a. In rear impacts, the head-restraints are the only savers and are present on both cars.
b. Side impact handling is questionable in either case since both cars do not come with thorax and curtain airbags. The side structural protection in minimal due to absence of crumple zones.

Based on the above, although the Ritz may possibly be structurally stronger (claiming this solely on the basis of its size and cost), the A* Zxi with its array of passive safety features and the crucial ABS+EBD is a safer car than the Ritz Lxi.

BTW I absolutely adore both these cars!

[RSR]

Originally Posted by rajathv8

Based on the above, although the Ritz may possibly be structurally stronger (claiming this solely on the basis of its size and cost), the A* Zxi with its array of passive safety features and the crucial ABS+EBD is a safer car than the Ritz Lxi.

You are spot on in your assessment!

This thread acquires a new meaning after the recent Global NCAP crash tests, where cars without airbags, from the Nano to the Polo, all failed to protect the occupants in a standardized frontal offset crash test into a barrier at 64 kmph, and all were deservedly awarded a 0* rating.

To be noted however, is that Volkswagen volunteered to provide a Polo with dual front airbags to be put through the same test. It scored very well in protecting its occupants, and was awarded a 4* rating. After this revelation, VW India thankfully made dual front airbags as standard equipment on the Polo.

This just goes to show how important safety features are when it comes to occupant protection.

The Ritz is bound to be slightly better than the A-Star when it comes to the strength of the structure alone, as the Ritz is a bigger and heavier car with a slightly longer crumple zone. This has been proven in the Euro-NCAP tests where the European Alto got 3* and the Splash achieved a 4* rating (with both cars having four airbags as standard).

However, things don't quite work that way in India, since safety features are optional here, shockingly.

So we have to consider the safety kit of the exact variants of the cars we are comparing. And the A-Star ZXi(O) with 2 airbags and ABS (as also the pre-facelift ZXi) would surely fare much better in protecting its occupants, than the Ritz LXi without airbags.

[amolbh]

I have some small corrections if you'll don't mind.

Originally Posted by rajathv8

a. In rear impacts, the head-restraints are the only savers and are present on both cars.

The pre-facelift Ritz LXi does not have rear headrests at all.

BTW I absolutely adore both these cars!

Same here. Too bad they didn't live up to their potentials.

Originally Posted by RSR

The Ritz is bound to be slightly better than the A-Star when it comes to the strength of the structure alone, as the Ritz is a bigger and heavier car with a slightly longer crumple zone. This has been proven in the Euro-NCAP tests where the European Alto got 3* and the Splash achieved a 4* rating (with both cars having four airbags as standard).

This Euro NCAP page mentions only two airbags. However, higher trims of the Alto get 6 airbags.

So we have to consider the safety kit of the exact variants of the cars we are comparing. And the A-Star ZXi(O) with 2 airbags and ABS (as also the pre-facelift ZXi) would surely fare much better in protecting its occupants, than the Ritz LXi without airbags.

Would the Ritz (4/5) ZXi be better that the Swift (5/5) LXi?

Thanks for bumping up this thread, rajathv8!

[Sankar]

Originally Posted by amolbh

Would the Ritz (4/5) ZXi be better that the Swift (5/5) LXi?

Thanks for bumping up this thread, rajathv8!

Definitely the Ritz ZXI with airbags would be safer than Swift LXI.
Remember how Polo without airbags scored a 0 and Polo with two airbags scored a 4 in the recent crash test that was in the news.

[rajathv8]

Originally Posted by amolbh

I have some small corrections if you'll don't mind.
The pre-facelift Ritz LXi does not have rear headrests at all.

Thanks amolbh! I pulled out the face lifted Ritz brochure from under my mattress and noticed that the current Ritz Lxi does not come with rear head restraints.

[manishs]

How is the Celerio ZXi (O) compared to the A-star in terms of safety ? Pricing is almost similar.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by manishs

How is the Celerio ZXi (O) compared to the A-star in terms of safety ? Pricing is almost similar.

Yes, they should be similar in safety equipments.

Anurag.

[amolbh]

Originally Posted by manishs

How is the Celerio ZXi (O) compared to the A-star in terms of safety ? Pricing is almost similar.

I would expect the body shell to be safer, since it has been designed for foreign markets, replacing the Alto(A-Star here).

[Sankar]

Eventhough this thread is not relevant to me at the moment i think i finally got an "indirect" answer/conclusion to my question i asked 4 years ago. My conclusion being - the AStar ZXI with 2 airbags would be safer than the Ritz LXI with no airbags.