[Wason4699]

Well a lot of hearts are broken as expected of Hyundai Owners who were hoping to get some respectful results in GNCAP.

The Indian car customer is being taken for granted by the Korean Siblings. They have understood that the average car buyer is all about bells and whistles in the car.

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by Meph1st0

Poor performance by Hyundai but completely expected and in line. There is no Hyundai car in India that has received more than 3 stars, even the 3 stars are just borderline (i20 is not far away). Here is the latest result.

Surprisingly Kia sells Seltos in Australia which is again an RHD market like India. Kia has done the required changes to ensure RHD also performs well as it does in LHD-developed markets and ensured that the car received 5 stars.
Attachment 2296070

Came in here to say this. People defending Hyundai/Kia are missing the point - Hyundai/Kia didn't start with an inherently unsafe car or platform and make a car that excels in other areas but unfortunately, turned out to be a poor performer when it comes to safety.

The Australian base Kia Seltos that costs roughly the same amount of money as a mid-end variant here gets a 5-star safety rating in the more rigorous ANCAP, and that's including testing for driver assists that we don't get. The Australian car is a RHD variant, meaning R&D has already gone into making this car a (very) safe car - Hyundai and Kia know how to make it safe, they just don't do it for India. The cheaper Venue RHD has a 4-star rating in the ANCAP (and in fact, seems to be extremely safe in case of a crash - it loses it's 5th star because of a poorer showing in driver safety assists - I've attached links at the end of my post)

People can talk about how the lower-end Seltos variants cost less than the Australian counterpart (which doesn't justify an unsafe car IMO, but whatever), but what about the top-end models that cost 20L+?

Why does Hyundai/Kia advertise their 6 airbags and African Elephants on the roof knowing that the car they've made is unsafe (airbags can't compensate for an unstable body structure), knowing that they know how to make it safer, and are still choosing not to?

(Links :
https://www.ancap.com.au/safety-rati.../seltos/ad39fa
https://www.ancap.com.au/safety-rati...i/venue/cfd06a )

[adithya.kp]

This is scary. Does anybody know the rating for the previous generation Creta? (Has it undergone this test ?)
To me the previous generation creta looks well built. But I am no expert.
Recently I was checking out my friend's Alcazar. I was shocked to see the build quality of boot door. ( Or at-least the sound it makes while closing. Felt very flimsy). No offence to the owners.

[Akshay6988]

Let me share my two cents as a middle class Indian -Hyundai owner...

Koreans have managed to offer what aam junta loves in a very good package (sans the safety). Think of a man who's traveling with his family on a splendor, what he decides when he wants to get himself a car ? Simple, no fuss car which has most number of bells and whistles for his budget and provides a better protection to him and his family. Maruti and Hyundai are his first choice for well obvious reasons.

Now I'm not defending these guys, nor I'm a fanboy. Did I know about Seltos' crash result ? Of course I did ! Did I consider VAG cars ? No. There are n number of threads here that made me drop them out of consideration. As of now, I do not have neither patience or deep pockets to own a VAG car. (Driving dynamics are irrelevant when you spend 80% of the month driving in B2B traffic. Come at me to argue this, and I'll counter it with the way Seltos Diesel drives) I don't like how cheap Maruti cars interiors are. Also I don't have patience to keep up with niggles in a Mahindra or a Tata. That left me with Hyundai ! I did have hopes that after Seltos' debacle, Hyundai might improve the Creta structurally, but they didn't. They went for the profits, as they should, they're not a charity after all. Now one would say Tata makes affordable safety car - yes true but their flagship is also not tested yet ! With all these factored in, I said YOLO and went with the Creta. I don't see why people are arguing here and blaming owners, if this anger was directed towards the authorities, perhaps we could have had a very interesting car market in India !

[Bluengel180]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Let me share my two cents as a middle class Indian -Hyundai owner...

I see these kind of posts in every thread. With all due respect I have to make a few points.

1) A person driving a splendor does not buy a creta. There wouldn't be a thread on how a nano is unsafe when it had 0 stars. Entry level exists and unfortunately it does not have the luxury of added safety. However we are not talking about the entry level here. We are talking about cars that retail for up to two million. Not entry level or "middle class" Are they?

2)After having owned multiple brands I do understand that the other brands go through niggles. But it isn't a good enough reason to throw safety on the back seat. It's a personal choice to pick a lower rated car but let's not beat the same dead horse when it comes to other brands. There are good rated cars in every segment and price point.

3)I hope that tata tests the safari ASAP. Because even though the rest of the roster is tested this is the standard answer given to justify zero testing of the other brands. And yes I make it a point to inform any people who are interested that the safari/harrier aren't tested.

Let's call a spade a spade and agree as a community that certain cars are not up to the mark in safety regardless of the manufacturer. It's the only way to make the manufacturers take notice instead of an endless thread of people taking it personally.

[Emvi]

Originally Posted by AnAntinspired

Honestly, in a week where two entire seat belt strapped, air bags protected families of people I knew from work, died in highway accidents, one driving a top end crysta and another an XUV 500 (again top end) and another third, much worse accident of a cousin in a beat up old zen had him walk out with just scratches...im wondering if NCAP should allow brands to 'market' reliable safety as a selling point any more than hung chilli-lemons and dashboard idols.
Yes, since we drive amidst 0 star rated common sense and road conditions, a, 5 star definitely helps but should it make or break car purchases? Or should there be a star rating for driving skills without which one shouldn't even be allowed a wheel,, which I doubt democracy would allow to judge.

Agree with most of your points.

Originally Posted by prajwalmr62

If the fact that you have the safest car of the segment helps you sleep at night, why not?
The same way, someone wants less maintenance, overly reliable car, to help them sleep at night. So, why not?
At the end of the day, buy the car that doesn't make you spend sleepless nights.

Spot on!

To each his own. Most of us buy vehicles which suit us, our requirements. If the current Creta owners and prospective buyers (if not all, a few of them) are disappointed, it is understandable. Surprisingly, there are a lot of others who are more worried and disappointed with outcome of crash test results. Ideally we all want each and every vehicle manufactured and sold(cars,buses, trucks etc.,) to have a 5-star safety rating. Not just that, if each individual follows traffic rules, it can't get any better.

If a 'non 5-star rated car' involves in a head-on collision with a 5-star rated car at whatever speed(60,120 or 180kmph), the occupants of the former are at risk, atleast a lot of people believe so. Therefore, if somone is ready to take the risk and as long as the individual sticks to traffic rules, I don't think it should worry others any which way. And for the wannabe superstars on wheels, do the star ratings really matter!? I have no comments.

It is a shame that Hyundai skimped on some minor R&D costs of cars which sell more than 2 Lakh copies each. I guess with the same grade steel and probably thickness, it is possible to make a safer car.

Completely agree. Hyundai (and Kia) could have addressed the issue. If the cars are rated low on safety, they are for a reason. No arguments on this.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Stereotyping someone or something is easy and most of us(me included) do on numerous occasions subconsciously. The most rampant one on the forum and outside is - "People buy Korean cars only for their BLING". Please tell me what BLING do the base and mid variants offer, which BTW account for a major chunk of sales!

But then, no one is forcing you to buy their cars. For those who have bought them without prior knowledge of the safety ratings and value the ratings highly, they can always sell the car off. And if I am not wrong, Creta is one of the most sought after cars in the used car market.

Road rage is a menace, social media rage isn't far behind IMO.

[sbm]

Originally Posted by Emvi

But then, no one is forcing you to buy their cars. For those who have bought them without prior knowledge of the safety ratings and value the ratings highly, they can always sell the car off. And if I am not wrong, Creta is one of the most sought after cars in the used car market.

Road rage is a menace, social media rage isn't far behind IMO.

The problem here is, what car would one buy if Koreans are out due to low safety? None of the rivals are crash tested. One can also say that Creta and Seltos are the safest cars in this segment right now Even a customer who knows all has his hands tied here.

[ron178]

May I say one thing before this thread goes down the route of the Seltos' thread?

Manufacturers read Team-BHP. Along with an forum for enthusiasts it's also a place where consumers voice their thoughts.

Ask Hyundai why they're selling a car with such low safety performance.

Every car has its attributes and the beauty of competition is that the buyer decides what they prioritise. But today there is demand for better safety performance, and it's not something that needs Hyundai to compromise on the other things they're known for. At best it's going to need them to invest a little more in R&D and make a little less profit per car. It's probably going to cost the consumer close to nothing.

Blaming someone else for buying a certain car which has attributes you might not value is not going to make a difference. You're going to wind up with a group of offended people, a closed thread and nothing more.

[Akshay6988]

Originally Posted by Bluengel180

Let's call a spade a spade and agree as a community that certain cars are not up to the mark in safety regardless of the manufacturer. It's the only way to make the manufacturers take notice instead of an endless thread of people taking it personally.

Buddy, nowhere in my post I've defended Hyundai/Kia or bashed other manufacturers. I just stated whatever is out there and I don't see any reason for you to attack me. The splendor guy was just an analogy to represent middle class Indian family. You didn't have to take it literally word to word Okay, agree with you that there is entry level Kiger, Tiago - good cars, with good safety ratings. But again, will he be able to keep up with niggles and issues financially ?
PS much beloved and over hyped VAG cars made in and for India are also not crash tested, yet every official / non official review mentions solid build quality and good "thud" I wonder why is it so

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by sbm

The problem here is, what car would one buy if Koreans are out due to low safety? None of the rivals are crash tested. One can also say that Creta and Seltos are the safest cars in this segment right now Even a customer who knows all has his hands tied here.

In the C2 segment that the Creta and Seltos belong to, we have the XUV300 and Tata Nexon that have a 5-star rating, Nissan Magnite and it's sister car the Renault Kiger with a 4-star rating, even the older Vitara Brezza/ Urban cruiser has a 4-star rating, and the erstwhile top-selling C2 sedan (Honda City (4th gen)) has a 4-star rating. That's 7 other cars in the segment (even though one - 4th gen Honda City, isn't relevant anymore) that have been crash tested and found to have good scores.

The only overlap with the D1 segment price wise (to my knowledge), the XUV 700, comes with a 5-star rating. Jeep Compass starts where the Creta/Seltos pricing ends, so I don't think it's a 'rival' per se.

[sbm]

Originally Posted by rkv_2401

In the C2 segment that the Creta and Seltos belong to, we have the XUV300 and Tata Nexon that have a 5-star rating, Nissan Magnite and it's sister car the Renault Kiger with a 4-star rating, even the older Vitara Brezza/ Urban cruiser has a 4-star rating, and the erstwhile top-selling C2 sedan (Honda City (4th gen)) has a 4-star rating. That's 7 other cars in the segment (even though one - 4th gen Honda City, isn't relevant anymore) that have been crash tested and found to have good scores.

The only overlap with the D1 segment price wise (to my knowledge), the XUV 700, comes with a 5-star rating. Jeep Compass starts where the Creta/Seltos pricing ends, so I don't think it's a 'rival' per se.

With all due respect, I am not talking about the official classification of segments. From a common man's perspective who has gathered some knowledge about cars from youtube etc cars are below 4m and above 4m, sedan and SUV and other similar classification. I am talking about Creta, Seltos, Astor, Kushaq & Kicks. A person upgrading from a hatchback wouldn't want to go for a similar sized car. Believe me or not, aspiration is the primary driver of car sales in India. One could say that safety is paramount and Nexon/XUV300 is better than Creta/Seltos in safety but then, a Punch or a Tiago is also better and one saves a lot of money too. One has to balance many things while buying a car like aspiration, safety, reliability, after sales etc. As @ron178 said, it's not correct to put the blame on the buyer. When top selling cars are struggling to perform in a simple offset crash test, there is something very wrong with the industry itself. And special mention to 'torchbearers' of safety who are shying away from sponsoring their flagships or omitting ESP from all but top models of their 2ton crossover. When Govt of India makes BNVSAP manadatory along with star rating for each new model. Only then we will be able to see true face of each manufacturer and they'll be forced to make really 'Safer cars for India'.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by adithya.kp

This is scary. Does anybody know the rating for the previous generation Creta? (Has it undergone this test ?)
To me the previous generation creta looks well built. But I am no expert.
Recently I was checking out my friend's Alcazar. I was shocked to see the build quality of boot door. ( Or at-least the sound it makes while closing. Felt very flimsy). No offence to the owners.

Conversely, did you open the bonnet ? You surely wouldn't find it flimsy. I think we should no longer get into these touch-and-feel discussions. I have owned a car which is popularly known as a "tank" or a "Vault on wheels" in this forum, i.e. the Linea T-Jet, but I am pretty sure that it would fail the GNCAP testing in the present times. Which is why I said earlier that scoring on benchmark safety tests is a continuous exercise and no nation has all of its cars mandated to have the highest rating. Now, as an additional perspective, of all the cars I owned in India (Santro, Dzire, Linea, Nano, Micra, Duster, Polo, City) barring present Creta, the one car which had the most overall niggles was the Linea, followed by the Nano. And the one car which had zero niggles?- The Duster. And niggles here also include ones regarding build quality of the cabin.

[RoadMonkey]

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

Think of a man who's traveling with his family on a splendor, what he decides when he wants to get himself a car ? Simple, no fuss car which has most number of bells and whistles for his budget and provides a better protection to him and his family. Maruti and Hyundai are his first choice for well obvious reasons.

*This is not directed at you personally*

On every safety-related thread, this point is brought up. That a box of metal is safer than a two wheeler and for that reason, buying unsafe cars can be justified. I think this is a fallacious argument and I state my reasoning every time I see this. Would you travel at triple digit speeds on a splendor on highways with notoriously high accident rates? No! A couple we know drove 1700kms on their Creta in 5 days. Would they do that on a splendor on highways? No. And they also have a Splendor still! The use case of a two wheeler and a four wheeler is different. The semblance of safety the metal box provides makes us take more risks on the road. I don't mean driving like a lunatic as many do after buying a "5 star tank", simply putting ourselves in situations we otherwise would not.

This argument is - to some extent - justifiable for cars like the S-Presso and Kwid, not Creta! There are safer cars which cost significantly less, Hyundai has no excuse for making such an unsafe car.

With all these factored in, I said YOLO and went with the Creta. I don't see why people are arguing here and blaming owners, if this anger was directed towards the authorities, perhaps we could have had a very interesting car market in India !

People aren't blaming owners, rather putting the onus on the customers to push the manufacturer into building safer cars. Whikle yes, the regulations should be taking care of these things, but in the absence of that, customers can also vote with their wallets and force a company into doing what they want. Not that that's going to happen.

As for YOLO, that's completely a personal decision one need not justify. I have been involved in a serious accident in the past that could've taken my life, thankfully I was wearing a seatbelt. People still choose to ignore wearing one, including those who know me and even the guy who was in the car that night.

Edit: I think YOLO can also be a reason for buying the safest car possible. You only live ONCE.

[nitkel]

All said and done, I believe that cars are worth much more than just one aspect like safety. The overall feel and value that a particular car provides, along with the desirability of the brand, makes you want to buy it.
Even these safety tests take into consideration only a small percentage of possible crash scenarios, so there's no guarantee that any car will save you from all potential accidents.
These ratings should be taken as a guide, not as a defining point to choose a car over other.
Would any of the enthusiasts here pass on a chance to drive a vintage sports car or a legendary model without any modern safety features to speak of, and maybe even push it to the limits? I know I wouldn't.

[Lobogris]

Even though I would definitely want all manufacturers to provide safer cars and would like the government to mandate stricter safety protocols, in this context, I feel that the Creta and the Seltos are fairly ok vehicles. There is no excuse for the manufacturers to provide safer cars overseas vs India but it is not like they scored zero stars. A three star rating is mediocre and combined with a great feature set, good reliability and pricing, the vehicles can be considered fairly decent. Would I purchase a Seltos or Creta over say a Taigun? No. However if someone chooses to do so, it is perfectly understandable. We are acting like a 3 star score is equivalent to zero. We should give reasonable credit for a reasonable score. A 3 star rating is mediocre, not poor.