[groom]

Baleno gets a 3 star rating w/o safety pack and 4 start with safety pack in the new Euro NCAP dual test protocol.



Extract
The Suzuki Baleno received 3 stars based on the standard safety equipment. Suzuki offers the optional safety pack 'Radar Brake Support' which includes an AEB City and AEB Inter-Urban system. With the pack included, the Baleno achieves 4 stars and is the first vehicle to be assessed under the new dual rating.

[Leoshashi]

Finally the much awaited Crash test results are here!!

Click to View

Gives a proper idea about the stability of the bodyshell.

Regards,
Shashi

[volkman10]

Baleno is the first car to be tested as per this new rating - Dual rating.

The Suzuki Baleno gets Dual Ratings:
A) one based on the safety equipment which is fitted as standard to all cars in the range - 3 Star Rating

B) and another which also includes an optional safety pack called 'Radar Brake Support'. - 4 Star Rating

From 2016, Euro NCAP allows two star ratings for the same vehicle: a base rating which indicates the safety of the car fitted only with safety equipment which is standard on the model range throughout EU28; and, if the manufacturer wishes, a second rating for the car fitted with a ‘safety pack’ which may be offered as optional.

http://www.euroncap.com/en/results/suzuki/baleno/24498

[hybridpetrol]

Hopefully this puts the reservations about the Baleno's safety (due to its light weight) to rest. 3 stars for a base model is good in comparison to market standards. Of course, assuming that the same model, with same amount of steel is exported to Europe, with same safety kit offered here.

[srishiva]

Does kerb weight give any indications on any beefed up structural add-ons to the ones sold here?

Generally some amount of thud inducing re-inforcements could actually be for user experience in Euro markets similar to stiffened suspension that people favour there.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Finally the much awaited Crash test results are here!!

Couple of things the model sold in India misses out on is the adaptive braking and curtain airbags.

Having said that, the car seems pretty decent given the light weight and questions on the solidity of the car in an accident.

[rohitoasis]

Cross posting the video which was also posted in the official Baleno thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-KrtWeTJqY

The side impact tests as usual look scary. The car seems to take the frontal impact well though.

A 3 star rating might not put an end to the ongoing debate people have about the crash worthiness of this car.

[nmenon]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

Finally the much awaited Crash test results are here!!

Click to View

Gives a proper idea about the stability of the bodyshell.

Regards,
Shashi

Looking at the video especially the slow mo parts. You can see the shckwave travelling through the bodyshell.
To my untrained and non expert eye the frontal impact tests seem to show that the passenger cell is quite stable and doesn't seem to deform much.

Even the side impact, except for the pole test, shows reasonable stability in the structure, though I must say even watching the test makes you cringe when you think of something like that happening in real life .

So it appears that despite all of the noise on the light body shell and supposedly flimsy metal, the Baleno is a safe(ish) car.

And the 890KG weight is common to the car sold here, so it appears that Maruti are actually giving a similar Baleno in India as the one sold in Europe.

Similar because we still miss out on the Safety Pack (Curtain Airbags and Radar Brake).

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by nmenon

So it appears that despite all of the noise on the light body shell and supposedly flimsy metal, the Baleno is a safe(ish) car.

And the 890KG weight is common to the car sold here, so it appears that Maruti are actually giving a similar Baleno in India as the one sold in Europe.

Similar because we still miss out on the Safety Pack (Curtain Airbags and Radar Brake).

Yes, Kerb weight is almost same even for Export models. Maruti engineers who were testing boosterjet baleno in cochin had confirmed to me that body shell is same for domestic and export variants. Baleno has not done very well in crash tests but now we can say that it is decent enough.

[KiloAlpha]

Euro NCAP periodically updates the standards for which a particular star rating is given. So, a 3* car today should probably equal a 4* car from 10 years back? In which case, looking at the Baleno crash test video, except for the side impact (which decidedly snaps the neck of the occupants in a weird way), would it have got the 5* rating ten years back?

You decide. Here is the video from one of the first Euro NCAP 5* cars - the 2001 Renault Laguna.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukT7ctsnu7Y

[abhishek46]

Some questions from my side, which I believe some folks might be able to answer:
1. The car tested above is 'made' in India. What is the difference between this car and the ones which are actually 'sold' in India?
MSIL playing hanky panky with safety related structures cant be ruled out.

2. Cars that are actually 'sold' in India are sometimes tested by Global NCAP. This is the real litmus test for Suzuki's latest gen cars. Does any one know when they plan to test this?

[volkman10]

Euro NCAP states the latest Dual ratings and its purpose.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBBAeWQKlMk

[technicalytuned]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Some questions from my side, which I believe some folks might be able to answer:
1. The car tested above is 'made' in India. What is the difference between this car and the ones which are actually 'sold' in India?
MSIL playing hanky panky with safety related structures cant be ruled out.

2. Cars that are actually 'sold' in India are sometimes tested by Global NCAP. This is the real litmus test for Suzuki's latest gen cars. Does any one know when they plan to test this?

See tomorrow’s news, if there is an advertisement with the Euro NCAP crash test rating then it means that the Baleno sold in India is the same which is exported. I’m suggesting this on the basis of response of Toyota when Etios scored 4 stars.
And according to me the current Baleno owners are going to get disappointed by Maruti Suzuki India Limited since I highly doubt their intentions which is not going to change until and unless the Indian herd mentality is changed .

[anjan_c2007]

So far so good as far as the stars are concerned. Is it the version sold in the Indian market that has qualified for this rating by NCAP ? Or is it the exported Baleno ?

I am asking because the Suzuki Swift sold in U.K. and other parts of Europe has a NCAP rating of four stars, whereas the Swift / DZire sold here gets a ZERO.

And this Baleno accident of November 2015 is still fresh on our minds:



https://www.rushlane.com/maruti-suzu...-12174220.html

[IshaanIan]

Good to see that Suzuki made such a light weight car perform decently well. Sure this may have received 4 or 5 stars a decade back, but why not raise the bar higher? Why not achieve the top rating even with today's more stringent norms? I remember when the Kizashi came out it performed admirably in crash tests, outclassing its competitors even 5 years after its launch. Sure the Kiz never sold well, but I was truly convinced that it was indeed a sign of good things to come however after the launch of the K-Series motors, no sign of great quality from the Kiz trickling down to their modern cars like the Ciaz and S-Cross, no truly brilliant handling Suzuki car in their whole line-up and this, just about adequate display even from their euro product, I am disappointed in the direction the brand seems to have taken. What happened to your flair Suzuki?

Hope the boosterjet motors are actually good.