[Klub Class]

Any day, I will prefer Fiat Punto Emotion Pack or Hyundai i20 1.2 Asta (O) over the other hatchbacks sold here.

I will prefer Fiat Linea over the other sedans. Period.

Originally Posted by Johnny_

The most common reason why the air-bags don't pop out is a lot of people don't fasten the seat belts. Air-bags pop out only if the seat belts are fastened.

I don't think so brother. And if that's true then, I do wonder why Fiat Punto, Fiat Linea and many other cars sold comes with a 'Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Control'.

I'm damn confused! I'm eagerly waiting for the inputs of the experts.

Amith

[suhaas307]

The Hyundai i20 has got to be a pretty safe car. And for a Hyundai, it feels pretty solid! You cannot argue with the stats: 6 Airbags, ABS et al. However, Hondas are known for their safety as well. The City and the Jazz are pretty safe and are decently built as well!

EDIT: The Polo/Vento should be pretty safe cars as well. Nothing like Euro-build-quality at the end of the day!

[noopster]

At the risk of sounding pompous, to a large extent how safe you are in teh car depends on your driving practices and commonsense. If you drive defensively and avoid risky situations, while ensuring that your car is well maintained in the brakes, tyres and engine department, any car is as safe or unsafe as the other. Features like ABS, airbags etc. will certainly help in case something goes wrong- despite your best intentions, something can and WILL go wrong!- but they are no guarantee of safety. So I would stop obsessing over this and go with my heart!
Swift Zxi or Vdi with ABS? The Vdi has an excellent diesel engine and ABS- go for it!

[Anandg]

Thanks team,
Based on feedback in posts above:

Safe hatchbacks:
Punto, i20,Jazz and swift.

Safe sedans:
Linea, sx4

Now moving further on the initial query, please post why following were not listed:
Polo, micra despite the fact that even entry level micra comes with a airbag! also in sedan why verna is not considered. Please enlighten.

Also looking at prices of Jazz and i20 they have actually blurred the line between the hatchbacks and sedans. Thus they might to too much in terms of price for a newbie to venture into. please take price as well into consideration.

[druva]

Originally Posted by Klub Class

I don't think so brother. And if that's true then, I do wonder why Fiat Punto, Fiat Linea and many other cars sold comes with a 'Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Control'.

I'm damn confused! I'm eagerly waiting for the inputs of the experts.

Amith

ON/OFF is for people who will be unsafe with Airbags like kids, pregnant women. You will be using seat belt but dont want airbag to be deployed on them.

[gou]

Originally Posted by Anandg

Hi Mods,
I am not sure if this tread exists, in case if it does, please delete this one.
I would like T-Bhpians to post their views on safest car on indian roads but with following things in mind:
1) This query is for all Noveu Richy (does it points to IT people ) guys who have just learned driving or have money but not sure which car to purchase that is safe (at least from car's perspective).
2) Car should be under 10Lakhs as this is where maximum purchase happens. Also high end cars have anyways all features but one should have money to own and maintain them.
3) The views should be on both hatchback and Sedans.
4) The car should be good looking, should have some bells and whistles, is fun to drive and as well as has good safety features. (no amby's here).
5) Car should have good manners on both city and highway.
6) They should not cost a bomb to repair for their safety service (at least not for small damages).

This is requested so that people who are looking for new cars but consider safety first, get an honest opinion about which cars can be their life savers.

You can make this a poll, where people can vote for safest car. But going through the entire thread looks like the title is a misnomer. What appears is that you are looking for is a safe car which is VFM. Is that true?

But if you are looking at safest car I guess it has to be i20. Its only car below 10L having curtain airbags. Has got 5 star NCAP rating. Make no mistake I am no fan of i20 or Hyundai.

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

Hyundai i20 probably. IIRC, its the only one with six airbags in your price range.

Completely agree.

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

This may happen in any car. Certain types of impacts do not activate the airbags. For instance, hitting a pole in most cars may not activate the airbag and almost all user manuals admit to this.

I might also add that being heavy or having that European thud doesn't necessarily mean safer. This rather old discussion has some valid points.

Originally Posted by sandygordon

One doubt
Is it just the tank like build that determines safety?

Japaneese and Korean cars rely on crumple zones in their feather-light cars for addressing safety issues. Finally its the percentage of impact that is transmitted to the occupants that determines how safe the car is.

I feel any car with airbags and ABS in this category(sub-ten laks) is equally safe, because there is no other tech in these cars like the merc or beemer to keep the occupants safe.

I feel the i20 full option or swift zxi is equally safe as a fabia or a linea/punto.

Thats true.

Originally Posted by vikrantj

Sedans : Linea
Hatches : Punto
Small hatch : Spark

Having 6 airbags does make one feel safe, but that is not the deciding factor for a car's safety. I would rather base a car's safety on following points not in order of precedence.

1. ABS
2. Braking Distance.
3. Build quality (steel thickness etc)
4. Airbag
5. Drivability / Steering feedback.

Rgds
Vikrant

Vikrant, no offence to you, but steel thickness is not a criteria. I have always heard people saying that old cars (to that matter bikes) used thick metal and hence safer. Nowadays, cars are designed in a way that in case of a front collision their bonnet part (including engine and all) should crumple. Its designed to take away most of the impact force and should transmit the least impact force to the passengers. So in laymen terms it is supposed to act as a shock absorber for the passengers in case of collision. So that the car might be destroyed but the passengers are safe. That is what @sandygordon meant and is I guess one of the deciding factors

Originally Posted by noopster

At the risk of sounding pompous, to a large extent how safe you are in teh car depends on your driving practices and commonsense. If you drive defensively and avoid risky situations, while ensuring that your car is well maintained in the brakes, tyres and engine department, any car is as safe or unsafe as the other. Features like ABS, airbags etc. will certainly help in case something goes wrong- despite your best intentions, something can and WILL go wrong!- but they are no guarantee of safety. So I would stop obsessing over this and go with my heart!
Swift Zxi or Vdi with ABS? The Vdi has an excellent diesel engine and ABS- go for it!

My friend, being safe definitely will depend on how you drive, but thats not how we can measure cars for their safety. For that we need to see how the car behaves under adverse situations. We need to look at various crash tests, safety equipments etc for that. Yes handling of the car will have an impact but only in avoiding accidents. What happens in case of an accident is a totally different thing and thats what the safety feature of the car determine.

[aniketi]

I guess you should go for Fiat Linea Multijet Emotion Pack. You will get most of the things in that car plus its a safe car. Fiat cars are always a safe bet than any other Japanese or Korean cars. Also its one of the most good looking cars available in the town.

[Anandg]

Originally Posted by gou

You can make this a poll, where people can vote for safest car. But going through the entire thread looks like the title is a misnomer. What appears is that you are looking for is a safe car which is VFM. Is that true?

Yes Gou. This is the primary purpose. When people look out for the cars in this range they want a car that does not crashes owners pocket aswell.

[gou]

Originally Posted by Anandg

Yes Gou. This is the primary purpose. When people look out for the cars in this range they want a car that does not crashes owners pocket aswell.

That way Figo, Indica Vista, Beat, Micra (base variant has airbag) and Manza look good. All these have ABS and airbag in higher variant. In Beat paying some nominal additional you get free maintenance for 3 yrs (please correct me if I am wrong)

The following would be quite the safe car for sub 10Lac they have ABS and airbags:

Punto Emotion Pk "I would rather take the 90PS one"
i20 Asta "The Asta with sunroof has 6 airbags the cheaper one has 2"
Linea Emotion pk really build like a tank both this and Punto"
Vento Highline "Just go an touch it its pretty hard steel the car is made of, solid and has airbags"

[Klub Class]

Originally Posted by druva

ON/OFF is for people who will be unsafe with Airbags like kids, pregnant women. You will be using seat belt but dont want airbag to be deployed on them.

Thank you Druva. Yes, I know the purpose of Passenger Airbag ON/OFF Control. My Fiat Punto has 'that' option

I just wanted to know whether Airbags would deploy even if we don't wear the seat-belts and that's the reason why I put that query.Thanks again.

Amith

[.anshuman]

^^ Airbags in a car do not pop out unless required. Owner's manual of most cars specify the conditions where Airbags will not be triggered. This includes Roll over, Side crash and Crashing into a pole or a tree.

For further discussion on this please refer threads related to Airbags.

An Article on Airbags: Airbag - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Moderators Note: Please do not post offtopic posts here. This thread is for discussion on safest cars. Thanks.

[selfdrive]

In my recent test drive I was told that the i20 no longer comes with 6 airbags.
Also, where does the Figo fit in terms of safety, it seems to have a no bumper to speak about - is this compensated elsewhere in the structure?

[selfdrive]

I had asked this question on another thread, but that seems to have been deleted and I can find no other relevant thread where this can be asked.
Do all cars now have 3 seatbelts in the rear seat, or does this differ by maker/ model?

[av8er]

How come the GRAND OLD HM AMBASSADOR has not made it to this list.

She does have a reputation for being a safe car. Atleast the last time I checked.

No Airbag, No ABS, No ESP, but still she stands like a BULL. Come on guys tell me another product which can beat that?