[warrioraks]

There was a thread few days back on whether Hyundai-Kia combination can upset Maruti Suzuki. After looking at the GNCAP results, all I can say is a big YES! They have literally gate-crashed to the league of extra-ordinary automakers.

[NICHE]

I considered seltos for upgrading from my 2011 Ford figo. But finally decided to continue to use it 2-3 more years because of the money factor. Now I feel happy about that decision. It is atleast a structurally stable car.

[deetjohn]

What I find baffling or scary is this! Global NCAP or its subsidiaries starting pulling up Indian cars for these random tests much before Kia came to the Indian market.

So, Kia was certain their models will get picked up. Yet, they went with this blatant cheating for additional profitability. What does that tell us??

Yes, there will be a little bit of noise once the crash ratings comes out, like on this thread for instance. But it will do ZIP, ZILCH, NADA to the monthly sales. Just look at the Swift for reference!

As a market, we claim to be very intelligent & smart buyers! The reality couldn't be further from the truth. And as long as there is no change to this mindset, the pied pipers of the auto world will continue to drive us - the mango men to the water to drown!!

Kudos and Thank You to Global NCAP! And please continue your good work.

[airbus]

Pathetic crash rating for these popular cars. Once again it proves that majority of Indian customers are mostly attracted by fancy features and not safety.

Couple of hours back I was speaking to a friend who returned to India after staying 6 years in the US. He told me that in US people don't prefer Kia and reasons seem to be obvious.

[chiefpk]

I am quoting the news excerpts from the carandbike news about the crash test results of the i10 Nios and the Kia Seltos.

India's second largest manufacturer has also been a poor performer at Global NCAP but now the Hyundai Grand i10 Nios has received a respectable 2 star rating for adult occupant protection. While 2 stars are not worthy of any admiration, it exhibits some attention to safety – like the use of dual front airbags and front seatbelt pretensioners as standard. But here too the body shell and footwell area were deemed unstable. The crash dummies showed non-fatal injuries in the lower half of the body. But head and neck were well protected, while chest too was reasonably protected.

The third car tested was the hot selling Kia Seltos. The compact SUV has been a runaway success as Kia's first model for India. The Seltos has received 3 stars for adult occupant safety and 2 for child protection. Dual airbags, pretensioners ABS braking being standard helped achieve its good score. While its body shell also got an unstable rating, it was borderline says Global NCAP – which shows scope for improvement, likely through minor changes. The driver's legs and feet show injury due to an unstable footwell though. Head, neck and chest protection are acceptable. Here too Global NCAP expressed disappointment that Kia India too did not recommend CRS for the test.

These guys are just so damn biased towards Hyundai and Kia. They consider the 3 star rating of the Seltos "good" and the i10 Nios "exhibits attention to safety".

I mean how can you not show people the truth. There's no mention of what Tata and Mahindra have achieved and no disappointment that a 15 Lakh crossover is only being able to "secure" 3 stars.

Hyundai must be paying these news agencies very well so that they remain lovely towards their attitude.

[ROG_AK]

A perfect example of 'Beauty is only skin deep'.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Highest GlobalNCAP ratings achieved by manufacturers -
TATA Motors - 5 stars.
Mahindra - 5 stars.

If I'm not mistaken, the Ford EcoSport got a 4 star rating, no?

[nasa_hubble]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Yes, there will be a little bit of noise once the crash ratings comes out, like on this thread for instance. But it will do ZIP, ZILCH, NADA to the monthly sales. Just look at the Swift for reference!

Agree. At the least there is more data to make a better informed decision. Purchasing habits may not change but we are better able to look through the "Hyundai Quality" smokescreen.

[Reinhard]

• I expected the Seltos to score 4.
• I expected the NIOS to score 1.
• I expected the SPresso to score 0.

Only the SPresso's result didn't surprise me. And yet - it did surprise. While the test result has got it a 0 - I could see that the monocoque has actually at least remained visually "ok". In many previous cases of Maruti car GNCAP tests - the A pillars and floor edges of the cars totally deformed - buckled in fact - thus really compromising cabin safety. The A Pillar on the SPresso has actually survived the impact rather gracefully! Minimal deformation. I'll give this to this little hatchback. Didn't expect it.

As for the Seltos. I believe there will be a lot of uproar about a base model being tested. My thought for it would be - if KIA wants to get high rating - they should load up the safety features from base model. They know base model would be tested. Nobody is stopping them. In case of the 1st Indian car to score 5 stars - all the safety features including ESP, TCS, hill hold, roll-over mitigation, brake wipe, corner stability braking - are STANDARD from base trim in 2020 version. KIA should take a leaf out of that book & score a perfect 5. Indians deserve safe cars.

Afterall a 10 Lakh rupee car with just 2 airbags scores 5 stars - there are examples on our roads. Even if we add all safety features of GTX+ - the body-shell will remain unstable for any more loading & that cannot be changed by the added features.

Am I disappointed with the Seltos result? Yes. It was a car I liked - even asked friends to get one when they asked! Looks, kit, proportions - all were good. I might well have purchased it myself it it had arrived 2-3 months earlier on the showroom floors. I like it a lot lesser now & the brand KIA has taken a hit in my eyes too.
In case of the NIOS - it would have been better if they copied safety credentials also while copying the Tiago's tail-lamp design!

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by AutoConsultant

Honda Amaze has scored a 4-star rating in Global NCAP. Although it was for a model manufactured in India but exported to Africa, the Indian-spec model is not too different from that.

Originally Posted by TheHelix0202

If I'm not mistaken, the Ford EcoSport got a 4 star rating, no?

Would be wise to stick to cars tested from the Indian market. Neither Amaze, nor Ecosport were tested from India.

As we have seen with such international companies (including Honda for Mobilio and Ford for Figo) - there exists double standards for Indian and export markets. Seltos teaches us the same lesson as well.

[sunilg33]

A nice time to analyze the October sales figures. Probably one car in the top 15 with a stable bodyshell and a 4-star rating. Yes, a few in the list have not been tested but I expect similar ratings of their siblings as they share the same platform.

I recommended 2 of my friends to buy a seltos, assuming that this being their first car they would have put their best in it - feeling cheated now.

[Sk8r]

Hmm, I feel pity for people who queued up to purchase Seltos. They spent 20 lakhs for a car which has unstable body shell.

No amount of words can justify the double standards applied by Hyundai / Kia

But, hey ! People got what they paid for right ? Touch screens, IoT, bling etc.,

Wondering how much will Hector score

[arvi86]

So, it's that time of the year when Global NCAP slogged it out, testing base variants of popular Indian cars and publishing their findings to absolutely no-one's surprise. Why are we acting surprised? Hasn't this been the trend ever since this organization started doing this thing with #SaferCarsForIndia ?

We crib, we cry hoarse, we blame the Government and we bad-mouth the car-makers that rank high up on the sales charts in these threads whenever the results are published. But guess what, when it's time to vote with our wallets, we ignore these ratings, throw these all-important stars in the bin and happily bring home cars with the S, H and now K.I.A badges. What's the whole point?

Unless we stop voting for them with our wallets, these car-makers aren't going to change. When the same Swifts, i20s and Seltos' can come with Euro NCAP 5-star goodness overseas, don't we Indians deserve the same?

Dear folks at the helm of Tata Motors and Mahindra, take a bow! You took a stand and it's time we - the car-buyers - take a stand. Car-makers like Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford too deserve a pat on their backs for not getting down to the extent of the Korean duo and the Japanese S. I'm sad cars like the Polo, Figo / Aspire, EcoSport and Etios (already defunct!) didn't sell more than they did. They deserve better treatment from us Indians.

[TheHelix0202]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Would be wise to stick to cars tested from the Indian market. Neither Amaze, nor Ecosport were tested from India.

As we have seen with such international companies (including Honda for Mobilio and Ford for Figo) - there exists double standards for Indian and export markets. Seltos teaches us the same lesson as well.

but why haven't Global NCAP tested the Indian Ecosport yet?

[VVN]

Wow. What a shocker. I was so close to giving up my City and going for a Seltos. No chance in hell now. I will stick to my car for some more time before something safe comes in the 15-20L category. S-Presso and i10 was expected but Seltos? Jeez! Feeling let down for some reason. I recommended the Seltos to so many friends and family members.

Is it too much to expect a stable structure for a car that costs 20 big ones?