[civic-sense]

The words coming out of Maruti's boss is no doubt shocking. But we can't overlook the fact that Maruti's target buyers do not have "safety" high on their priority list. I think, we should let them choose what they want. For the rest of us we have other brands to shop. People are free to choose their cars based on what they value more - money or their lives.

[INJAXN]

Well that is India for you, we get fascinated by retractable ORVMs, keyless entry, key-fob, music system, steering mounted BT controls and what not? But we care least about ABS and airbags. period.

There are thousands of people who feel that air bag is useless, thousands of peeple feel that, they don't need ABS as they don't drive fast .
And IMHO they are not wrong as no one educated them about it, and not every one is on T-bhp.

So, as suggested in some posts already, government should mandate at least the driver side airbag and ABS.
I myself own a swift vxi ( A non abs, non airbag vehicle )

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CoolFire

Beg to differ just on this point. This will just make people spend more for every unwanted feature in the higher variants. The ideal solution will be to make the basic safety measures (ABS + 2 airbags) mandatory and then buyers will be free to chose the variants based on other parameters (including premium safety features like six or more air bags, traction control, electronic stability control etc.)

That is an ideal solution indeed - but what till then?

The 'I booked my car' thread in team-bhp itself has many recent instances of people booking cars without airbags. Are they aware that they are booking a 'zero rated' car? I am not sure. Hence my post that we should start highlighting this fact.

[napster1311]

2 years back when looking for an upgrade from my pre-owned Wagon-R, I am ashamed on myself that I never ever considered any safety features. I ended up buying 6 lacs + car which has only a seat belt in the name of safety feature.

No issues with car's performance. But I regret that instead of buying base variant of a "more spacious" and "Powerful" car I should have looked for a "more safe" car. As someone mentioned highly powerful engines in wafer thin, structurally compromised chassis without any safety equipments is a ticking time bomb (God save all of us who are so badly exposed to dangers).

I feel even bad because having seen and experienced safe cars in US, I never gave a thought on this aspect. When I look back on the days of meeting sales persons not even a single guy emphasized on the importance of Airbags and ABS and made a sales pitch on that.

Having said all this finding a really safe car under 6-7 lacs is still a difficult task in India. I think you get 4+ airbags and ABS only at a price range of 8-9+ lacs.

Its an equal fault on the part of Govt, Manufacturers and Consumers. But Govt and Car makers must step up and start treating Indian lives as good as Europians and Americans.

[Inquisitive]

See the logic that manufacturers don't provide airbags because there is no market demand for this is absolutely untenable. Do you think the moment these become compulsory and they hike the price by say Rs. 30,000, people will stop buying cars? As a matter of fact, I dont think the manufacturers can actually hike the price because of that. Correct me if i am wrong, were Liva prices hiked when front airbags were made standard across variants? Polo prices were indeed hiked by about Rs. 22,000 because they were the first to do it and now, with Toyota playing this trick on them, I do not think in future car manufacturers will be able to pass on the buck to the buyers. As a consumer, I think it is time for us to demand actual cars not 'assassination contraptions'. How do you feel as a nation with such a whopping number of car sales to allow MNCs to offer cars that are unsaleable at their mother or father land and then blame the Indian customers as the determining force for such atrocious behavior?

[Carophilic]

Originally Posted by You are not serious! It is wrong to compare automobile crash tests and mobile phone benchmark tests, because the former is about safety and the latter about performance. And no one can guarantee that you will survive an accident. A car manufacturer can only increase the [B

probability of survival[/b] by incorporating safety kit. "19-20"? If a Polo Comfortline (with ABS and airbags) and a Swift VXi (with hope and a prayer) are involved in the exact same kind of serious accident, which car would you rather be in?

I would rather not be caught in any accident!
Jokes apart, you are absolutely right in saying that car makers improve odds of survival through compliance with NCAP norms.

My point was don't be carried away with the NCAP results. They have their own agenda. They have to propagate EU agenda. I cribbed about this issue with various OEMs. ASEAN NCAP , Chinese NCAP , Japanese NCAP etc. have all adopted different tests for rating cars. Hence, a 5 star rated JNCAP car and a 5 star rated ASEAN NCAP will absolutely not be of same level. Suppose, tomorrow Indian NCAP adopts only one test out of kitty of tests available and rates cars, won't it be a big farce. I am only stating my opposition to the propagation of this farce.

Regulation is the only tool to ensure safety and not some pseudo charitable organisation with ulterior motives.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Carophilic

Hence, a 5 star rated JNCAP car and a 5 star rated ASEAN NCAP will absolutely not be of same level.

Isn't that the whole idea?

For Euro NCAP, you need safety features like assisted braking to score a 5 star as per the present norms. But a car in the ASEAN region will not be getting this feature for a long time to come, due to the market dynamics. They have adopted their rules accordingly. ASEAN market mandates the inclusion of electronic stability control for a 5 star rating - a step forward for what they are currently used to.

In the Indian market, we get nothing. No tests, no safety rating. Agenda, propaganda, farce - whatever it is called - I would say - something is better than nothing. Even if crash tests are introduced in India, and airbags and ABS are made mandatory to score a 5 star rating - it would be a big step forward.

[NPV]

I'd recently heard of an accident involving a Swift and hence had asked this question here.
Scary to say the least. Even scarier are the recent recalls related to Airbag issues, that's the last thing one wants/expects!

Also, from the news article:

The Swift exported to Latin America received a 3-Star rating. While this was due to the presence of airbags and ABS, the structural integrity of the car is similar to the Indian Swift. The European Swift however, has managed to score five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests as it has a much stronger structure.

Is the Eurpean Swift also exported from India ? And it has a different structural build quality that is superior ?

[Zinda]

Who cares? As far as Swift VXi/VDi returns same mileage figures as more expensive Z variants, the "saved" 70-odd grands can be spent on fancy alloys shod with 195 section rubber, "skoda" type horn and art leather seats and voila, cool looking super hatch is ready!

and also ready are the silly explanations/excuses for not opting the top of the line variants with Fogs,Rear Wash/Wipe, Airbags and ABS! Personally I think the relatively not so necessary features like Acres of Chrome, Alloys, Glovebox cooling and Keyless Entry & Go can be traded off for dual airbags and ABS+EBD which are absolute must. My personal thought though! At the same time, hats off to VW which despite not so strong sales numbers like MS and Hyundai, prioritizes on safelty and has airbags from base versions (if I am not mistaking).

[RavSam]

Originally Posted by Zinda

At the same time, hats off to VW which despite not so strong sales numbers like MS and Hyundai, prioritizes on safelty and has airbags from base versions (if I am not mistaking).

Please include Toyota here too because they too now have Airbags as Standard in Etios Liva.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Zinda

At the same time, hats off to VW which despite not so strong sales numbers like MS and Hyundai, prioritizes on safelty and has airbags from base versions (if I am not mistaking).

This happened after the last tests conducted by Global NCAP where the Polo scored zero stars.

Volkswagen responded to the results with two announcements- 1. The structural integrity of VW cars in India has not been compromised compared to markets abroad and 2. Going forward, VW would be making ABS and airbags mandatory for all variants. After this announcement was made- NCAP tested the Indian version of the Polo with ABS and airbags and it scored 4 stars IIRC.

Totally respect that decision made by VW.

The other companies concerned were MS, Hyundai, Ford and TATA. And they chose not to respond.

[Lalvaz]

I drive a Maruti swift and while I love the car for its overall performance, I do have concerns about the flimsy build quality. I also dislike the fact that airbags were not an option on the diesel swifts earlier, I could only get abs as an option(which I took). I really think it's high time Maruti took consumer safety seriously in India and focused on providing better quality automobiles in India. I want to be able to proudly state that my Maruti Suzuki is as safe as any other, but it's a sad reality that right now it's a zero in terms of safety.

More importantly, we as Indian consumers must push for a strong regulator to make safer cars mandatory. The toothless ARAI is really pushing the manufacturer's agenda and not the consumers, they insist on stupid homologation certificates for imported cars to prevent imports of safer and better cars, publish absurd mileage figures which almost no one can achieve in real life. It's high time that we Indians demand world class quality in India. We're absolutely sick and tired of being treated like second class human beings with inferior quality products and service. Give us world class automobiles or get out of our country.

[audioholic]

Not surprising, given the kind of insane attitude the manufacturer has, in terms of publishing high mileage figures for cars. When cars with better build like the Polo itself couldn't get good ratings, the swift wont stand a chance. Having the Dzire at home, I will never back the safety aspect of the car. The build is as flimsy as my WagonR and only the interiors will make us feel a little better. After driving the Dzire, as soon as I sit in my SX4, I feel like sitting in a tank. Of course the 250 additional kilos transforms the feel that the car gives.

In the meanwhile, I am curious to know how a Ciaz fares in this test. Given the light weight construction, whose weight is 200 odd kg lesser than the SX4 for the same dimensions except height, I wonder if it will be safe enough structurally. If not strong at least I expect the passenger cabin to be intact during the crash.

[giri1.8]

So, If I am in the market for a hatch, the only safe option I could go for is POLO? this is a very unfortunate situation if you ask me! BUT, how many stars will the swift earn if it had airbags and ABS? Below is the vidoe of Dacia Sandero which has got 4 stars and has similar damage to the shell as the swift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nxLY56Dr4U

Edit: I mentioned in my ownership review that I avoided Hyundai grand because of zero star safety rating of the first gen i10, its very unfortunate that I have spend hard-earned money on a car which is poor on safety :(

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by giri1.8

BUT, how many stars will the swift earn if it had airbags and ABS?

I guess you didn't read the full report. It earned three stars with airbags- mostly proving that the structural integrity is not maintained for the Indian markets.

I believe the European swift earned 5 stars, which would be equivalent to 4 stars now as per the modified norms.

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

We're absolutely sick and tired of being treated like second class human beings with inferior quality products and service. Give us world class automobiles or get out of our country.

Was the Swift the only option in the segment back then? No other diesel cars offered airbags as an option?

I say we change first before crying for the government to change.