Safety Equipment in Cars
(and some notes on the safety of the Scropio N)
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Not
too long ago, the left rear view mirror would not be put in cars to save costs. It cost a couple of hundred bucks then (Maruti 800). It took the law to make it mandatory.
Similar mandates were needed for other safety issues - seatbelts, airbags, ABS, speed warnings etc. If "pay up" was the only factor, even such features would not have come up. Ideally and practically, it is the government which should mandate such safety related stuff.
Government mandating such takes out the competitive disadvantage of providing safety features for the manufacturer, at least for comparable vehicles.
To make it fair, vehicles could be in different segments based on various parameters - technical and cost - to balance between spending and need. After all, there are different taxes for vehicles based on length and engine capacity (the sub-4m class).
Can we play a role?
Mahindra and other car manufacturers for-profit businesses. They would not do things where they don't expect to make money (in the short or long run), and that is understandable for companies working in a highly competitive environment. It is up to us consumers to call them out when they talk much about safety and star ratings, while compromising on other important safety equipment. This in turn would push their interests towards providing more safety equipment even in base variants. However little, that is what we can do.
Safety Equipment Implications, etc.
The implications of choosing a car with or without safety equipment not only has a bearing on the user of the vehicle, but also on the others on the road - specifically for active safety based equipment. It being encouraged or made mandatory (based on segment/class of vehicle etc) is a good public-road safety measure.
Public-road safety measures include functional lights, avoiding high-beam, a fair-functional vehicle (brakes etc), and the like.
Roll-over mitigation and ESP is more important for higher vehicles than it is for lower ones. Maybe the government can have a criteria like height to track-width ratio being over a certain figure mandating roll-over mitigation and ESP. The likes of Scorpio N and Hector should certainly figure in that list.
Is Scorpio N safe? Prone to toppling? (Part 1) (I meant to post this on the Choosing and SUV thread, but due to the current context posting here)
While driving a car, what is very important besides the car obeying our commands (dynamics) is also that it gives us the right feedback about it's interaction with it's surroundings and it's limits. Most focus on the first and tend to ignore the latter - I guess it even skips the attention of most.
Many rejoice the low bodyroll in the Scorpio-N. Yes, it is good on that front. If car designers want, they can eliminate bodyroll. It is very much doable by having a roll-centre at the height of the center of gravity of the vehicle. Why don't they do it? Besides other reasons (jacking effect leading to instability etc), bodyroll is also a feedback mechanism, which tells the driver of how close the vehicle is getting to it's limits, allowing the driver to adjust and drive accordingly.
Lower bodyroll also means lesser feedback for such situations. Sedans and hatches having a low centre of gravity are much lesser prone to rolling over, so it is lesser of a issue. For a high centre-of-gravity vehicle such as the Scropio N, the cost-benifit stacks up differently.
The issue of lack of required feedback further gets enhanced by the Scropio N having an EPS which is quite devoid of such communication - something which the HPS typically provide well. (HPS vs EPS:
Link 1,
Link 2)
To add insult to the injury, I read about people "upgrading" to much wider tyres, without considering the cons. This can be a double edged sword.
(Part 2) Wider tyres typically mean more traction. How can this be bad? Read on:
If one is moving a car in a circle and keeps increasing it's speed, what will happen? It will either lose traction (skid) or roll over and topple. Right? So, what tells the driver that he is approaching the limit? Bodyroll, steering feel, and understeer/oversteer. The first 2 are iffy in the Scorpio N. Your chance now is for the tyre to skid a little for you to know that you are crossing the limit. Tyres with higher traction delay that signalling (feedback) till you are closer to toppling over.
Further, bear in mind that the Scorpio N is a RWD so would be more prone to oversteer than understeer, which is more unnerving and more difficult to control. The petrol engine, especially, is immensely powerful too.
This is the reason I had suggested @RijuC earlier in the thread to be careful while trying out the Scorpio N in the hills, and also why I suggested those who do not need the abilities of the Scropio N to consider other options (including the XUV700) in my elaborate report on the Scropio N on the Choosing an SUV thread (link to said post
here).
The above further emphasises the importance of roll-over-mitigation and ESP in a high CoG vehicle such as the Scropio N, and especially so with it's high Roll-Centre design (which reduces the bodyroll).
I say the above out of concern for fellow-mates. If/when you get your Scorpio-N SUVs, please do drive accordingly and not get carried away. This one has the ability to get emotions flowing. If you plan to upgrade tyres, do keep the above in mind.
[Disclaimer: Though the above is highly likely correct, I do not claim to be any specialist auto-engineer, and am sharing what I understand, how I understand it, and it forms a part of my assessment of vehicles, including for our own purchases.]
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BleueNinja 1. They are charging 10,00,000+ Indian Rupees for the car and ESP is something that is a basic safety associated feature in this day and age. Many cars are infact providing ESP right from the base variant then why can’t Mahindra?
2. I mean in case of XUV700 you aren’t even getting it till AX7(p)/AX5(d) Rational thought process states that a car should cover the safety aspects firsts and then price can dictate what features or tech can be passed on across variants. |
1. It is simply a matter of what competitive business forces push a company to do. That is where the government has a role to play.
2. That Mahindra made such a noise about 5 star safety and then chose such a safety equipment spread reflects poorly on Mahindra. Good for such standards to be highlighted. Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RijuC There must be a regulation for minimum safety features a car must have, irrespective of the variants. |
Thanks for highlighting this, RijuC. There are standards for other aspects. With time, the standards are being upped too (as indicated in the earlier part of this post). I hope the standards are increased further, especially for vehicles which really need them, such as this one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kosfactor 1. Nothing comes for free as far as I know. Have a look at the insanity of this vehicle's pricing. Attachment 2353563
2. There will be no takers for a Z2 variant with safety pack, even those who rant about it won't buy it. |
1. The vehicle's pricing has been made so based on how Mahindra expects to maximize profits. I would not use VFM for justification of lack of safety - that is a slippery slope.
Further, the prices mentioned in the screenshot are incorrect, mate. Not blaming you, as I too noticed an issue in the Carwale site. I checked as 12.92 lakhs on-Road Bangalore for a vehicle with an ex-showroom of 12 lakhs didn't pass the smell-test.
The Z2 Petrol MT on road Bangalore as per CarDekho is over 15 lakhs.
Further, if I was to make a fair comparison with Scorpio N base model with MT and few features, rather than to choose the N line of i20 (that too with DCT, the most equipped model, that too in a dual tone), I think the base model of the i20 might be more appropriate to judge value. Incidentally, the i20 base has more features than the Z2.
All the above said, I really do not deny the value of the Scropio N. It is a huge BoF SUV afterall, and comes with an engine with those figures! Shocking at that price for sure.
2. I agree that a large chunk might not buy it, and that is why the role of the government (especially keeping public safety in mind) becomes even more important.
Unrealistically, I do wish companies to take the lead. Just another wish.
Cheers!