[volkman10]

Maruti Suzuki Swift gets 2 stars from the previous generation's Zero as tested by GNCAP!





The Global NCAP test for the new Swift, has the following comments for Adult and Child Occupant:

Adult Occupant: The protection offered to the driver and passenger head and neck was good. Driver chest showed weak protection while passenger chest showed adequate protection. Driver’s knees showed marginal protection and passenger’s knees marginal and adequate protection as they could impact with dangerous structures behind the dashboard supported by the Tranfascia tube. The bodyshell was rated as unstable and it was not capable of withstanding further loadings. The car offers standard SBR for driver but it does not meet the minimum requirements ABS.

Child Occupant: The child seat for the 3 year old was installed FWF with ISOFIX and top tether and was able to prevent excessive forward movement during the impact while it offered good protection and marginal protection to the chest. The 18 month old CRs was installed with ISOFIX and top tether forward facing which explains the loss of head points, it showed poor protection for the head and chest. The recommended CRSs did not show incompatibility. The vehicle offers standard ISOFIX and top tether anchorages in the 2 outboard rear seats and does not offer 3 point belts in all seating positions

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hBlTEBSBxM

In Global NCAP's latest round of tests of made-in-India cars for the Indian market, the latest version of the Maruti Suzuki Swift hatchback equipped with double airbags, and ISOFIX (i-size) anchorages, got a two-star rating in Adult Occupant Protection and two stars for Child Occupant Protection.

The two-star result for adult occupants is due to high compression to the driver chest, unstable structure and poor protection for the feet explained by pedal displacement on the driver side. The Child Occupant Protection of only two stars is explained by the forward facing positioning of the 18 month old dummy in the test offering low protection and also the low protection offered to the chest of the 3 year old dummy

David Ward, Global NCAP Secretary General said:

The latest version of the Swift sold in India has improved and it is good to see dual airbags as standard. This confirms the beneficial effect of the Indian Government’s new crash test regulations. But the performance of the Swift sold in Europe and Japan shows that a better safety performance is still possible so Global NCAP would like to see Maruti Suzuki aim higher.

[libranof1987]

Oh, Maruti Swift. The same one that has the highest monthly sales at 22k?

That line about the same car sold in Europe/Japan doing better at safety tests is just wonderful mockery. India is such an important market for Suzuki and their safety track record is just plain awful.

[jetsetgo08]

I thought the times have changed after the Brezza achieved 4-stars, but with the Swift at 2-stars, . Feels like life comes to a full circle.

Next in line are the Dzire, Baleno & Ignis. But, now it would be a real surprise if they could achieve anything better than the Swift.

[theredliner]

Maruti had claimed that all their new vehicles were in compliance with the upcoming Indian crash standards. If this is the standard that the government is going to set, then they better scrap the project and stop wasting tax payers money on it

PS To add insult to injury, this car stands at the top in today's published T-BHP sales chart. WOW!

[am1m]

This is simply awful! And I'm saying this as a new Swift owner.

If they can make the International version safer, why not do the same for the home market? I know we take safety for granted here in India (I should know, I still bought the car knowing fully well that it would not be one of the safer cars around at the same price range), but still how much of a difference would it make in price to make the car at least up to the European standard of safety?

Mods: Please add the crash test rating to the official review.

[anjan_c2007]

They have improved to two stars from the previous Gen Two Swift, that scored a big ZERO.The Japanese version of the Gen Three Swift has scored FIVE stars very recently:

https://auto.ndtv.com/news/suzuki-sw...h-test-1862037

The Japanese Swift Hybrid RS version offers six air bags, two front, two side and two curtain, ABS and EBD as standard features . Besides, electric stability programme (EPS) along with Dual Sensor Brake Support (DSBS) collision-mitigation system are also available. The optional safety pack at a premium includes Hill Hold Control (HHC), around view monitor, Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Weaving alert, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), high-beam assist and all-wheel disc brakes.

According to this website shown below, motor1.com the Swift Gen Three, standard model for the Western markets scored THREE stars, while the one with an optional safety pack scored FOUR stars.

https://www.motor1.com/news/147099/s...ee-star-crash/

It is also true that some car makers offer larger-sized airbags for the Latin American markets, as compared to the Indian market. Indian lives are quite cheap and hence ZERO and TWO stars should not be a problem for MSIL. Such cars even top the sales charts (September 2018 # 1 in sales selling 22,228 units )

[Lone Ranger]

Man this is like one step forward, two steps back (considering the Brezza's results).

Unfortunately, Maruti is not going to bother about the negative publicity for reasons we have discussed ad nauseum in this forum. But what I am unable to comprehend is that if there was a concerted decision to make the Indian cars safer, wouldn't it have made sense for Suzuki to make sure its best seller gets at least the same result as the Brezza? Why the step motherly treatment for what is after all, a new (and still very important) model for Suzuki in India?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Lone Ranger

Why the step motherly treatment for what is after all, a new (and still very important) model for Suzuki in India?

For the same reason SRK, even though he's capable of amazing performances, continues to make more movies with mediocre scripts! It'll sell anyway. In fact it'll probably sell better and they'll make more money! So why make the extra effort when the market rewards a worse product?!

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The Japanese Swift Hybrid RS version offers six air bags, two front, two side and two curtain, ABS and EBD as standard features . Besides, electric stability programme (EPS) along with Dual Sensor Brake Support (DSBS) collision-mitigation system are also available. The optional safety pack at a premium includes Hill Hold Control (HHC), around view monitor, Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Weaving alert, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), high-beam assist and all-wheel disc brakes.

Truly drool-worthy! Anyone knows enough to come up with a rough estimate of how much these features would add to the price of an existing car? Localized parts and all.

[superbad]

I don't think MS would've any problem in putting 6 airbags in the Swift, just that they would've to jack up the cost by about 40-50k, if I'm not wrong. Result - our highly price conscious market & our itni-choti-car-itni-mehengi-kyu mentality will quickly red flag the vehicle & buyers will look somewhere else to get "max bang for their buck". As it is, safety isn't one of the parameters in the "bang".

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

They have improved to two stars from the previous Gen Two Swift, that scored a big ZERO.

Probably because airbags is standard in this generation.

Structure is unstable and not capable of further loading, overall 2 stars with airbags - nothing much has improved. Really!

Looks like Maruti is clearly differentiating safety between its premium (SCross/Brezza platform) and normal (Swift platform) offerings.

[jpcoolguy]

I saw this news just after the September car sales thread where the new Swift has taken the top position after almost a gap of 18 months.

I still don't understand how the European Swift scored 3 stars and Japanese version scored 5 stars, while our Indian Swift's body shell has been rated "Unstable". Is that mean Maruti Suzuki has used substandard materials (when compared to other countries) in the construction of body shell in order to make it more lighter?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by superbad

.....Result - our highly price conscious market & our itni-choti-car-itni-mehengi-kyu mentality will quickly red flag the vehicle & buyers will look somewhere else to get "max bang for their buck"....

Precisely the reason why safety should not be an optional feature or region-specific offering, and should be enforced by regulations at par with international standards.

If plenty of people in a certain market prioritize saving a penny over safeguarding their life & limb - and those of others who may be impacted by said choices - that choice needs to be taken away altogether. Nobody buys an unsafe car if none are on sale.

It's time we started thinking beyond our 'at least it's safer than a 2-wheeler' mentality, before someone brings up that argument. Taking a family off a bike and tossing them into a death-trap 4-wheeled tin-can with a false sense of security is ultimately making things worse.

This isn't an anti-poor rant, this is an anti-'we don't care about safety' rant.

[volkman10]

With the latest GNCAP tests, here is the updated 'safer' cars in India!

[silverado]

This is quite a disappointing result, since remember its not a SWIFT only.

This is also sold as DZIRE, and think about the combined numbers both are getting sold monthly.

[djkher]

The GNCAP test was done at 64kmph whereas the upcoming desi testing would be done at 56kmph. I bet marutis response would be - "the swift conforms to the upcoming indian safety requirements".
If they can do a good show with Brezza why not with Swift! It's disappointing