[SahilS]

A 4 star hatch with 6-7 airbags might fare better than 5 star Altroz with only 2 airbags in real life scenarios.
Do the G-NCAPs tests create test scenarios where curtain air-bags come into picture.

[pacman2881]

Forbes India covers Tata's success in improving safety -

“The latest result in our crash tests shows a strong signal that Tata is moving its fleet to 5-star levels of safety performance. We would like to encourage all other car manufacturers in India to follow Tata’s example and bring affordable 5-star cars to Indian consumers,” David Ward, CEO and President of Global NCAP said.

The genesis of the repeated success on meeting global safety norms lies in the groundworks that the company laid out in 1998, says Rajendra Petkar, the chief technology officer at Tata Motors

The bulk of the tremendous success in cracking the safety norms lie in the design language, reckons Petkar with a focus on optimising the layout of the engine bay area. “It’s not that we have used any fancy material,” he says. “We are in the affordable vehicle category and it’s all about the body structure. We paid a lot of attention to the engine compartment and the layout of that.”

Hope other manufacturers are forced to follow suite

http://www.forbesindia.com/article/s...cturer/57201/1

[RK79]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

VW is offering seamless roof since a decade in the Polo, and Altroz is the only second car after the Polo which is offering seamless roof, so overall its the Tata which is following VW's path on the safety front,

By seamless roof if you mean a non welded roof without rubber beading to hide the joint, Tata Manza and Zest does not have any joint or rubber beading on their roof.

[Karthik Chandra]

Originally Posted by SahilS

A 4 star hatch with 6-7 airbags might fare better than 5 star Altroz with only 2 airbags in real life scenarios.
Do the G-NCAPs tests create test scenarios where curtain air-bags come into picture.

There is no hatchback with 4 star rating + 6/7 airbags in our market, so there is no point speculating.

TATA Altroz is the safest hatchback. PERIOD

I don't understand why is it so hard to digest?

[vishwasvr]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

What are you implying exactly?

I’m implying that I didn’t consider Tata made safe cars?

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by vishwasvr

I’m implying that I didn’t consider Tata made safe cars?

Alright . Not exactly reality though considering the good list of certified 4 or 5 star cars from the brand and overall very heavy and strong build of the brand's cars since more than a decade. Barring perhaps the now discontinued Sumo, all cars on sale over last decade were considered safe and structurally solid by most. Whatever else they messed up, this one was actually the USP of TML cars. More on par with Euroeans compared to our market's favourite Japanese/Koreans.

Off topic,
Good to see safety being picked up as a key criterion. Mahindra is also focusing on it. This also means brands like VAG/SKODA will have interest in our market to keep investing. Cars with higher safety standards are inherently costly to make. Without compromising on it, their cars also get costlier and unwanted by customers. As people start safety worth paying for, brands have a reason to keep investing. Win win! Very happy to see home grown brands like Tata and Mahindra leading this significant change movement.

[turbo_delight]

Possible punch line :

Kitna deti hai ?

5 star deti hai

It's high time that safety should be considered a criteria for our buying decisions.

[shifu]

Originally Posted by turbo_delight

Possible punch line :

Kitna deti hai ?

5 star deti hai

It's high time that safety should be considered a criteria for our buying decisions.

I tweeted on similar lines to Tata Motors.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by SahilS

A 4 star hatch with 6-7 airbags might fare better than 5 star Altroz with only 2 airbags in real life scenarios.
Do the G-NCAPs tests create test scenarios where curtain air-bags come into picture.

I'm curious to know more. Could you please clarify on,
1.) Which is that 4-Star hatchback car with 6+ airbags that's on sale in India?
2.) What are the real-life scenarios in which the above-said hatchback car is better than a 5 Start rated Altroz?

I'm not at all cynical and I'd really like to know.

[SahilS]

Originally Posted by Karthik Chandra

There is no hatchback with 4 star rating + 6/7 airbags in our market, so there is no point speculating.

TATA Altroz is the safest hatchback. PERIOD

I don't understand why is it so hard to digest?

Originally Posted by kiku007

I'm curious to know more. Could you please clarify on,
1.) Which is that 4-Star hatchback car with 6+ airbags that's on sale in India?
2.) What are the real-life scenarios in which the above-said hatchback car is better than a 5 Start rated Altroz?

I'm not at all being cynical and I'd really like to know.

I didn't intend to take credit away from Altroz at all.

Now coming back to my question, I agree that that currently there is no such hatchback(4 star, 6 airbag) and Altroz is the safest hatchback currently in India. I was wondering what if there is one.

So let me re-frame my question.
Is Ford Ecosport - S (or T+), a 4-star vehicle with 6 airbags more safe that Tata Nexon XZ+, a 5-star vehicle with 2 airbags.

If another vehicle hit the car from side, curtain/side air-bags will come in handy and as per me(i might be wrong) and 4 star Ford Ecosport-T+ will offer better protection than 5 star Tata Nexon-XZ+ in that case.

Not all accidents happen like in NCAP simulations.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by SahilS

Not all accidents happen like in NCAP simulations.

Speaking of which - as another thoughtful BHPian (Mr.Rahul Rao, if memory serves me right) often reminds us - crash ratings and airbags are all fine. But we should keep in mind the fact that most lorries in India do not have underrun protection bars at the rear or sides. A highly rated crashworthy car will have nothing to crash into when it plugs itself underneath a haphazardly parked lorry on a dark highway. Yes, having crumple zones and a superior crash rating does matter. Side intrusion beams matter. Airbags matter. These help in very specific situations.

But still, having a high enough bonnet that would be taller than a lorry's unguarded rear or sides is one specific advantage that NCAP tests do not take into account.

When a car plugs itself beneath a parked lorry, it is pretty much game over. People seated inside get decapitated and the entire car gets shaven from top to bottom - NCAP rated or not.

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by locusjag

When a car plugs itself beneath a parked lorry, it is pretty much game over. People seated inside get decapitated and the entire car gets shaven from top to bottom - NCAP rated or not.

👍 , but that is when the importance of thick A pillars show up, though the passenger cabin's deformation is unavoidable they can hugely reduce the impact and thus help in reducing injuries.

[SaiSW]

Originally Posted by locusjag

When a car plugs itself beneath a parked lorry, it is pretty much game over. People seated inside get decapitated and the entire car gets shaven from top to bottom - NCAP rated or not.

It is about the damage caused. Ofcourse a speeding car ( 100 kph and above ) crashing into a truck with no underrun protection will be ruined but at sensible speeds, a car with good build quality , like the altroz and Polo will fare much MUCH better than poorly built ones like swift and baleno. There is a high chance the occupants can survive that crash in a well built car with strong A pillars.

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by SahilS

So let me re-frame my question.
Is Ford Ecosport - S (or T+), a 4-star vehicle with 6 airbags more safe that Tata Nexon XZ+, a 5-star vehicle with 2 airbags.

Not justifying any car, but at this point all we can do is only speculate. The made in India Ecosport if i am not wrong is not tested by GNCAP. Though it is well built and rigid, for now it would not be regarded as apples to apples GNCAP comparison.

The top spec Elite i20 Asta(O) has 6 airbags, probably GNCAP should test that and pitch it against the Altroz.

[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by jetsetgo08

The made in India Ecosport if i am not wrong is not tested by GNCAP. Though it is well built and rigid, for now it would not be regarded as apples to apples GNCAP comparison.

Ford had to 'add' 300 new parts in Ecosport when they planned to sell it in Europe. Approximately 150 parts were added in the structure itself to make it compliant of the Euro NCAP crash test.

European Swift (older generation) scored 5 stars in Euro NCAP crash test but failed to score any in the India bound GNCAP crash tests, rather got remark of 'unstable structure'. Story is same with many other 'global' models sold in India. You will be surprised to know the fact that so far whichever Hyundai car was submitted for Indian GNCAP crash test had failed miserably.

When we talk about safer cars in India then we will have to consider some India bound crash tests only. If there is no 'Indian' rating then no point relying on tests from any other country.

We just can't know what grade steel components are used in the structure of the cars because they are not visible from outside, neither we can measure the quality of the structure by touching the car.

What is visible as a beautiful looking car is just bare skin made of thin metal sheet which adds nothing to the rigidity of the car structure. Actual structural components are hidden beneath the outer skin, similar like human bones inside the skin.

Thanks to Tata, atleast their initiative of submitting cars one after other for crash tests Ignited discussions around alien subject of vehicle safety in India. Hope the awareness reaches to the masses.