[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by GTO

[b]
- "Depends" for a purely city car. Right now, my city driver includes a 0-star 1997 Jeep. Am I going to abandon it? No way. But I do keep my speeds in check & drive that old girl cautiously. And tomorrow, if I was looking at a purely city car, I would be okay with a cheap unrated hatchback.


In terms of total number of km, I perhaps drive 0-star / unrated new cars more than my own 5-star car.

Even I drive a unrated and perhaps 0-star car now due to obvious reason of financial state, but every time I get into the vehicle, I start with a prenote that I can control my vehicle and driving but not others on the road. And we have seen vehicles jumping from flyovers / across dividers onto other cars, So I think its better to have a car with strong shell even for the city travel.

[N S Babu]

Mod note: Please add paragraph break for better readability. Thanks.

The idea of asking what minimum safety one will accept in the Indian Market is not really a good question for the car buyers.

Indian cars also are certified by the testing agencies like ARAI etc to the standards laid down by Motor Vehicles Act.

Any car manufactured say after Oct 2020 needs to meet the minimum standards specified. Most of the Indian Standards closely match Euro standards. Do not go by model names tested elsewhere, Europe, as the car itself could be different.

GNCAP testing standards are higher than the MVA standards. Normally they test only the cars that are popular and sell more in numbers.
So all the cars manufactured in India will meet certain MVA standards and there will be no question of anybody buying below these standards. However vehicles made before this date will be at a lower level.

In addition to the basic standards manufacturers may/will offer other safety features like AEB, Lane Keep Assistance, Rear Impact safety, additional Airbags and other safety features which are not mandatory MVA.

Hence every car purchaser gets a minimum safety built into the car.

[BLACNWYTE]

Voted for Depends.

I want at minimum a 4* safe rated car as my next car and nothing less shall be used even if offered for free. Not that made in India but for another country tested car but a car made for India and tested for 4* safety and above. I'm not particular about made in India tag but if I can get it too, then swell.

Along with a 4*+ rating I'll love the following features also;

• ESP and TCS
• 6+ Airbags
• Roll over mitigation
• Highline TPMS
• All wheel drive (optional)
• All electro-chromatic mirrors
• One touch up/down windows (all) with anti-pinch function.
• Cruise control
• Electronic seat adjustment with memory function.
• 360 deg camera and front parking sensors.

P.S.- Didn't notice it was a multiple choice poll. I voted for 'Depends' because I thought even though I want a 5* rated car, I'll settle for a 4* rated one if it offered the remaining of my wishlist features.

[_abhay_]

Safety is a matter of design (efforts and money) not chance. A vehicle rated 5 is designed so, anything less means someone has tried to cut corners for profit.

Given a choice between 4 and 5 starts I will not trade safety for price. I'd started looking for a car with a budget of 7L and ended up with a Nexon for 9L 3 months back. My must have features were ESP and ISOFIX.

Teambhp helped make an informed decision.

[kamilharis]

Voted 4-5 Star!

From an Accent(Verna) to Nissan Sunny, now driving a Changan Eado with 5-Star (rated C-NCAP) safety rating.

Hence obviously I don't intend to go down on the safety ratings for my next car purchase.

[Miel]

Two of my current cars, a Toyota and a Tata, are rated 4 stars. So that's my minimum henceforth. To me the following will be my purchase criteria going forward:

1. Safety - Minimum 4 stars
2. Reliability
3. Hassle-free and affordable to maintain

As long as Safety is top notch at 4, 5 stars with peace of mind in ownership, I don't care much for other bells and whistles.

[chieftain]

I would say 3 if the structure is stable. If it isn't (like the Seltos iirc), then keep away.

[mohitm29]

This topic couldn't have come at a better time. My experience- I owned a Santro till 2015, which mechanically served well however few rattling noises started and despite getting every service done at Hyundai's authorized workshop, the rattling noises couldn't be rectified. I decided to upgrade my ride as safety became a priority as I became father. At that time was contemplating on buying a Swift / I-20, however after reading about the poor safety ratings on Maruti and Hyundai products, chose a 2011 pre-worshipped Honda City I-Vtec (with almost similar price), the car is rated 5 star in ASEAN NCAP. It still drives like new and I have been extremely pleased with the ownership till date. No offence to the proud owners of Maruti and Hundai products, my point here is that besides safety, cars having higher safety rating and stable / robust shelf are usually immune to such rattling noises and hence the newness of the car remain intact. Hence, it makes sense to buy a higher safety rating car for long term ownerships.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by Abhi5868

Our current car(Creta2018) feels flimsy and I'm not saying this after the Seltos result but something dad told me after completing the 10,000 km mark.

Our next car is likely to be a JEEP/VW. The Koreans haven't been one bit of reliable and fuss free everyone deems them to be. What we want is a world class product, since anyways we'd be paying more than our foreign counterparts.

Voted for 5 stars, because there cannot be any compromise on the safety rating.

And I too will want to look for VW/Jeep next time. Only one botheration is that VW has currently no diesels and I prefer a diesel.

I have a current gen Verna. It is headache-free when it comes to service, part cost, etc, but it is not that good when it comes to driving, ride departments.

[sridharj77]

I voted 4 stars and above here, but when I was shopping for a large SUV/MPV, there seem to be no tests for the India-specific models (Fortuner, Endeavour, Alturas, Innova), although Marazzo is there.

Is there any authentic site where these ratings are published for "Sold-in-India" cars and updated regularly?

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by sridharj77

Is there any authentic site where these ratings are published for "Sold-in-India" cars and updated regularly?

Just by coincidence, saw this today morning on RushLane.



https://www.rushlane.com/indian-cars...-12383318.html

Source: Rushlane

[QuadraticAmoeba]

Voted 4 and 5 stars.

Like many "typical" Indians, I had a blind faith in Maruti followed by Hyundai. I have owned cars from both of them earlier and had a smooth sales / after-sales experience. Honestly, safety was not even in my sight, other than reading the sales brochure and going "ooh, airbags? It has to be safe!". I also used to feel that Tata cars were not well engineered - no reason other than perception and opinions from others.

I credit Team-BHP with helping me better understand these issues and see past the glossy brochures and random opinions. My buying choices or recommendations will surely be much better informed. Thanks, T-BHP!

[Ultim8]

I would vote for "Depends".

The reason for above option is the scarcity of choices for proper fun-to-drive/enthusiast cars below Rs 15 lakhs in our market today, though its pleasant to see even Hyundai trying to provide for enthusiasts with Turbo-charged cars having good handling.

It does feel great to have many airbags in our car, until after they do their job in an accident and their replacement becomes due. I'd be concerned about the high costs of replacing an airbag, let alone multiple ones, unless the car's insurance entirely covers their replacement costs (which may not be possible for cars with 6 or more airbags and basic minimum insurance).

Another fact which concerns me about airbags is that they cause serious injury, or death in worst case scenario, for people not wearing seat belts. Personally, I've had a hard time convincing people apart from parents and my sibling about wearing seat belts. I guess I've to show them relevant videos and especially beg the rear passengers to wear seatbelts, at least for my safety while I'm driving.

[Mustang Sammy]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I think the poll results clearly show that nobody will vote for a 0 star even if they will go out and buy one.

My point was everyone wants a car with a 4-5 star rating but what they want is not always what they need.

If companies like Tata and Mahindra do enough to publicize the safety of their products against the competition, with clever ads and social media marketing, they might just lead the Indian customer, and thus the industry in the right direction.

[Guru_GPS]

Voted for 4 Stars.
When an OEM is prudently trying its best in terms of safety and providing 4-star rated safe cars in <7 lakh rupees bracket, no way I will settle for less if I am moving up the price range, just as many of us would look for more and more features [advanced as well as comfort, electronic as well as physical] moving up the upgrading ladder.