[inomad]

Thanks for this dashboard. Puts priorities in perspective. Say no to safety at the cost of veneer.

[PVPal]

Thanks for this wonderful effort.

Comes in very handy for someone looking for a new car with safety on his mind.

May I suggest that you keep a cell with the date last updated, as this sheet be referred to from time to time, and will change with time.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Crazy_cars_guy

The WagonR VXi (O) provides airbags for both, driver and co-driver. This variant also has ABS (which you rightly mentioned on your chart).
Could you please correct the chart? I guess this qualifies for the VXi (O) variant to pass the test.
I want to upload the e-brochure of Wagon-R to this post, for proof. But I am not sure how to attach files to post. Below is the link for the brochure:
http://www.vehicleades.com/downloads/wagonr.pdf

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

According to the official brochure (available here), only the driver's side airbag is provided in the VXi (O) variant. Is it a mistake in the brochure?

The Wagon R VXI(O) prefacelift came with dual airbags. The passenger airbag was removed to make way for a storage space in facelift. Mine is Feb 2012 model with dual airbags.

[BopsKA12]

Wonderful effort Lizardking
This excel would be a one stop referral for all looking to buy a car. Would share it along so that people make informed choices and buy safe cars.

[procrj]

Thanks for putting this together LizardKing.

Was looking at the cost of safety a couple of weeks back and this thread just adds to the confusion in my head. Lets assume that I am in the market to buy a no nonsense hatch which is safe. The Celerio Zxi(O) seems to be the right choice and the onroad price on carwale is 5.87 lakhs (ex bangalore). If you look at the cost of petrol Ritz, you can see that the Vxi is priced at 5.66 lakhs onroad.

Now the dilemma is which of the above is a safer car? Structural integrity and frame of the Ritz looks a lot more solid than that of the Celerio but has no airbags or ABS. If I decide to invest 10K more, then I do get the Ritz Vxi with ABS EBD but no air bags.

Its very worrying that the cost of safety pushes the price close to 6 Lakhs on road, which is in no way a small amount. The base model of the Celerio retails at 4.66 Lakhs, which makes the cost of safety 1.21Lakhs (for ABS + 2 front airbags). That is a whooping 26% price premium (when compared to the base Lxi) to pay just because you have the safety of the occupants in mind. I do realize that the Zxi(O) comes with a lot of other features like keyless entry, height adjustable driver seat etc. but what if I need only the ABS and Airbags and none of the other features? Sorry saaar.No option!

And this is a story that repeats across A,B & C segments, across car manufacturers. The top end is most probably the only variant which meets the safety criteria and the price difference between top and base variant is anywhere between 25% - 40%.

When I read the statement by Maruti chairman RC Bhargava, I had half a mind to vent out and ask him to sit in the Alto and take a crash test at 50 kmph. If you take his statement at face value, then the cost of a Alto 800 with ABS + Airbags will be 11% more than the on road price of Lx Alto 800. Even if this is on the higher side, A 10-11% premium for safety is a lot more digestible than a 30% premium.

[mkpiyengar]

Hey TheLizardKing,
Brilliant compilation.. Kudos to you..

Doesn't the Duster Top-End RxZ Petrol have safety features of Airbags/ABS when the RxL version has it ? Is it a typo ?

Cheers
MKP

[SKavuri]

Excellent and much needed thread.

I would strongly advice the The Team-Bhp review team to give sufficient weightage to safety features in official reviews and state whether the vehicle "passes" Team-Bhp check list.

I have a couple of points.

First, As mentioned by some members, structural integrity is the first factor that affects occupants safety. While this can be simulated through a structural design software during design phase, it is still a standalone check. The design also needs to be "validated", as a "COMPLETE SYSTEM" (crumple zones, airbags, etc) which can only be done through a crash test. I am sure there are now different crash test standards for different countries (as explained by Indian counterparts after recent NCAP results). I am also sure that it is complicated enough for some one to make a career out of it. My point is, as far as end users in this forum are concerned, there doesn't seem to be any yardstick for measuring this. So, how to go about it?...

Second, when we talk about safety we generally refer to safety of occupants during a collision. But this should extend to other smaller possibilities as well:-
- windows having a no-pinch feature to protect the fingers
- child locks on doors (this is common, but I was surprised once)
- incidents like fire hazards (eg:Nano)
- Tubeless vs regular tires
etc.

This is an excellent start and let us expand the spread sheets to get a good tool!

[Blue Bird]

First of all an excellent compilation. Its time that a buyer realises that the safety aspect is paramount and as long as a buyer doesn't compromise on the same the Manufacturer is going to come to our terms.

Ultimately its the buyer who is dictating the terms. If we say safety first then that will be it.

Also It would be really awesome if team-bhp came up with its own safety check list to include all the safety aspects including structural integrity, build quality and other aspects which have been mentioned in the earlier posts.

So when we go through the Offical review on team-bhp we will get to know the grading that team-bhp has given to that particular vehicle on safety aspects!!

[TheLizardKing]

Originally Posted by mkpiyengar

Doesn't the Duster Top-End RxZ Petrol have safety features of Airbags/ABS when the RxL version has it ? Is it a typo ?

I just figured out my mistake. The RxZ is only available in diesel. Will correct later.

[sunilyk]

Good compilation. I am not sure why the Alto, I10, Santro, Maruti 800, Wagon R, Swift (except ZDI/ZXI), Indica and lower variants of almost all car models don't have the safety features at all. And these are the popular cars on the roads and seen maximum. Almost 56% of the various models you have listed in the xls are failing the safety tests which is huge. I am failing to understand why the Security is not considered to be the bare minimum necessity for any car? Hope to get this enforced in next 2 years.

[bbhavan]

The Govt. should strictly enforce the necessary safety features in all the new cars. I don't agree to the argument that,the common man will not be afford to buy the cars in that situation.Actually it is the duty of the Govt. not to allow them to ride the un safe vehicles, and jeopardize the safety of its citizens.