[ron178]

Global NCAP has published its latest round of #SaferCarsForAfrica crash test results.

The Suzuki S-Presso achieved three stars for adult occupant protection but reached only two stars for child occupant protection.





In the frontal impact at 64km/h into an offset deformable barrier, the driver and front passenger's heads and necks showed good protection. Dummy readings of high chest compression and an unstable passenger compartment caused driver chest protection to be rated as weak, which also rendered the car ineligible for scoring points for front seatbelt reminders. Suzuki were unable to demonstrate that structures behind the fascia would not pose an increased risk of injury to the knees of occupants of different sizes or those sat in different positions. Although pedal movement was limited, the footwell ruptured and protection to the driver's feet was penalised.

Suzuki refused to select child restraints for the test so the S-Presso was not awarded dynamic points for child occupants. Using the child seats selected by Global NCAP, head excursion of the three year-old dummy exceeded the maximum permissible 55cm limit, and dummy readings indicated excessive chest deceleration. The 18 month-old dummy's head was contained but dummy readings indicated high chest deceleration. The S-Presso does not offer ISOFIX anchorages and has a static lapbelt in the rear-centre seat, incapable of accommodating a universal CRS.

Press Release
Technical Report: Suzuki S-Presso + 2 Airbags

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdgi...ature=youtu.be

Global NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa launch the last result for the #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign under its current test protocols today (29 June), with the welcome support of the FIA Foundation and Bloomberg Philanthropies. As from next month the assessment protocols will be updated to include side impact, Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and pedestrian protection requirements.

The Maruti Suzuki S-Presso is manufactured in India and scored three stars for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection.

The model was previously tested by Global NCAP for the Indian market in 2020. It scored a zero star rating for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection. Following reports that the version of the car sold in South Africa had a better safety performance, Global NCAP decided to put the claims to the test.

The S-Presso in South Africa is fitted with two airbags as standard. During the assessment the S-Presso structure demonstrated an unstable performance and the driver’s chest showed a weak protection level, marginally avoiding a two star rating. Levels of child occupant protection showed the same performance as the version sold in India. The lack of ISOFIX anchorages, lack of a three point belt in all seating positions and the decision of Suzuki Maruti not to recommend a Child Restraint System (CRS) explain this poor child occupant protection score

Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP said,
“The safety performance of the S-Presso in South Africa has been far from satisfactory and claims of improvement are not reflected in levels of child occupant protection which remain the same as the Indian version we tested in 2020. There has been significant progress with vehicle safety in the Indian market with a welcome requirement for the fitment of six airbags as standard. We hope that Maruti Suzuki will not apply a double standard for the vehicles they sell in Africa compared to those sold in India.”

David Ward, Executive President of the Towards Zero Foundation said,
“As our current test protocols come to an end in Africa it is important to see manufacturers continue their commitment to high standards of vehicle safety. Some continue to do well but we remain disappointed with others. Sadly, Maruti Suzuki fall into this latter category, where the rhetoric on safety is simply not matched by the reality.”

Willem Groenewald, CEO of the Automobile Association of South Africa said,
“While the adult occupancy result for the S-Presso is encouraging there is room for improvement, especially in relation to the child protection rating. The safety of motorists in South Africa is critical and we welcome the visible efforts by manufacturers in this regard and urge them to continue investing in this important facet of their production.”

Child restraints:
3 year-old: Britax Duo Plus, forward-facing
18 month-old: Britax BabySafe, rearward-facing

Global NCAP's frontal offset test takes place at 64km/h with 40% of the width of the car crashing into a deformable barrier, with two average male adult dummies in the front seats, and 18 month-old and 3 year-old dummies in the rear seats in child seats selected by the vehicle manufacturer. The test represents two similar cars, both travelling at around 55km/h, crashing head-on with half their widths overlapping. 'Good protection' indicates dummy readings of less than a 5% risk of serious or worse injury, with additional criteria for robustness of performance.

[Keeleri_Achu]

So the addition of seatbelt pretensioners and passenger airbag caused the rather high jump in rating. The difference in crash test weight is a mere 5 kg. Safe to assume this is the rating for the current model on sale in India, given both the aforementioned additions are now standard.



The brochure mentions it is optional in the lower trims. But I reckon they didn't bother updating the brochure once the standard dual airbag version rolled out.

Comparison between 2020 and 2022 versions






Imagine the S Presso having a higher rating than Creta and Seltos.

[darkfantasy]

This just made my day. As an owner of a top-spec S-presso, I guess I can apply this rating to my own car. Who could have thought that the ugly duckling could score 3 stars with just the addition of an airbag and pre-tensioners?.

The S-presso is an otherwise perfect car but for the dismal safety rating before. I am reconsidering my decision to book the new Brezza and might just hold on to this little guy for some more time.

[theAutomaniac]

Originally Posted by ron178

Global NCAP has published its latest round of #SaferCarsForAfrica crash test results.

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

So the addition of seatbelt pretensioners and passenger airbag caused the rather high jump in rating. The difference in crash test weight is a mere 5 kg. Safe to assume this is the rating for the current model on sale in India, given both the aforementioned additions are now standard.

Yep! There are no differences in the Indian and the SA spec S-Presso as of now.

How I wish Maruti had always offered Dual airbags and pretensioners as standard on India-spec model! If this 3 star rating had been announced earlier, their image would've had seen a considerable improvement.

This also instills my confidence into the fact that the Dual Airbag equipped WagonR can very well be a 9+ scoring car!

Let's hope Maruti keeps improving even more despite Mr. Bhargava's controversial remarks from time and again.



With that being said, I would really love to share this news with my friends, family and acquittances who happen to own some "modern" and "feature loaded" Korean vehicles!

[ron178]

I'll be frank, I'm quite pleased with the star rating. Sure, protection to critical body regions leaves a lot to be desired, and it would still perform badly against a larger vehicle, but in this segment, having a result that's "not a deal-breaker" is good enough and I think this is my segment pick. Personally, I like most everything else about the car except the grille that's better suited to the dentist's office.

I wonder how the new Celerio would fare against the current protocols. I'd like to believe they've benchmarked against the Tiago.

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

Imagine the S Presso having a higher rating than Creta and Seltos.

It's impressive considering the tight margins, but a reminder that ratings cannot be compared across different size classes.

Originally Posted by Carma2017

During my discussions with Suzuki guys, I came to know that the S-Presso is minimum 2 star level car if not 3-Star as per Suzuki internal tests. The car was made with an eye on NCAP.

Well, how about that.

[ron178]

Final list of all #SaferCarsForAfrica results under 2017 protocols that come to an end tomorrow:



XUV300 tops for adult protection while Mazda2 and Amaze narrowly miss five stars. Renault Sandero and Mahindra XUV300 top for child protection.

I wonder why they say 'Maruti Suzuki' S-Presso because the distributor in South Africa sells under the name Suzuki and not Maruti Suzuki.

[ajayc123]

Originally Posted by ron178

Final list of all #SaferCarsForAfrica results under 2017 protocols that come to an end tomorrow:

Attachment 2327148

XUV300 tops for adult protection while Mazda2 and Amaze narrowly miss five stars. Renault Sandero and Mahindra XUV300 top for child protection.

I wonder why they say 'Maruti Suzuki' S-Presso because the distributor in South Africa sells under the name Suzuki and not Maruti Suzuki.

In the table, there’s a Volkswagen Polo, and I am surprised by the 3 rating. Is it different from the Polo that was being sold in India.

I always thought that a VW car would be much higher rated than a Maruti. Can somebody help me comprehend this ? Am I missing something ?

[Joelinf]

S-presso is one of the cheapest 'tin cans'. If it can attain 3 star rating, it means to build safe cars, it doesn't cost the heavens. Even a car that costs around four times of s-presso just manages a three star rating. So the customer's priorities lie elsewhere, and so are the company's.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

In the table, there’s a Volkswagen Polo, and I am surprised by the 3 rating. Is it different from the Polo that was being sold in India.

I always thought that a VW car would be much higher rated than a Maruti. Can somebody help me comprehend this ? Am I missing something ?

Polo Vivo in South Africa is a stripped down version of the Polo (last gen Polo we have here). It has dual airbags, ABS, and rear ISO fix as standard fitment. They also get latest generation Polo.

Edit: Correct details available in ron178's post below

[ron178]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

In the table, there’s a Volkswagen Polo

That is the 2017 Polo Vivo, based on the 2002 Mark IV Polo that was never sold in India. It was sold in South Africa along the Mk5 as a cheaper version (a la Fiesta Classic/Honda City 4th-gen).



The 2017 Vivo did score better than the S-Presso. Critical body regions were better protected; it was quite close to four stars and would have been if not for some higher-than-expected knee readings.

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Polo Vivo in South Africa is a stripped down version of the Polo (last gen Polo we have here). It has dual airbags, ABS, and rear ISO fix as standard fitment. They also get latest generation Polo.

That is the latest Polo Vivo based on the Mk5. When the Mk5 was the 'normal' Polo the Mk4 used to be the stripped-down Vivo, and that's the version that was tested, not the Mk5 (generation sold in India).

I think South Africa makes all right hand-drive Volkswagens for Europe which explains why even the stripped down Polo Vivo sold there is better equipped for safety than the same generation Polo that was sold here until recently.

Originally Posted by ajayc123

I didn’t follow thr India Polo closely, but was that also rated at 3 in the global ratings, or higher?

Zero without airbags (basic versions sold before 2014) and four stars with two airbags fitted.

[Rohan265]

Originally Posted by ron178

Child restraints:
3 year-old: Britax Duo Plus, forward-facing

..and 18 month-old and 3 year-old dummies in the rear seats in child seats selected by the vehicle manufacturer.

This part intrigues me. The Indian version had a "Luster KA240" for the RWF child seat. The FWF seats are the same for both S-pressos.
I have never heard of the "Luster" brand before and can barely find anything about it online either. Maruti has used the same brand seat for the Wagon R too. It was quite bold of Maruti to recommend a local child seat brand over a Britax/Chicco. If nothing else, I hope this practice of recommending a locally-made child seat is taken up by other Indian manufacturers.

Originally Posted by ron178

I wonder why they say 'Maruti Suzuki' S-Presso because the distributor in South Africa sells under the name Suzuki and not Maruti Suzuki.

This puzzled me too. This and yesterday's Hyundai comparison test did make me a bit skeptical about Global NCAP's goals.
The Hyundai test has some questionable decisions, mainly the mass difference between the vehicles. I believe that they were comparing the cheapest Hyundai sold in each country. But having a collision between a Verna that is 30% heavier than the Aura didn't make much sense and is outside of what a usual NCAP test does.

Originally Posted by Joelinf

S-presso is one of the cheapest 'tin cans'. If it can attain 3 star rating, it means to build safe cars, it doesn't cost the heavens. Even a car that costs around four times of s-presso just manages a three star rating.

I could also reverse the argument and say that we give a couple of airbags and pre-tensioners to an alleged 'tin-can' to get a 3-star rated car. But does a 3-star rating suddenly make the 'tin-can' safe for all crashes?
This is why I personally take NCAP ratings with a grain of salt. However, no matter how limited NCAP tests are, the NCAP rating is the best metric we have for a car's safety performance.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by Rohan265

This part intrigues me. The Indian version had a "Luster KA240" for the RWF child seat. The FWF seats are the same for both S-pressos.
I have never heard of the "Luster" brand before and can barely find anything about it online either. Maruti has used the same brand seat for the Wagon R too. It was quite bold of Maruti to recommend a local child seat brand over a Britax/Chicco. If nothing else, I hope this practice of recommending a locally-made child seat is taken up by other Indian manufacturers.

I cannot find it at the moment (I will try) but I'm quite sure I remember reading something about Maruti having some partnership with a local brand to develop affordable child seats. Interestingly Honda used to also select these Luster seats, they used them for both Mobilio tests, but they performed badly and later they started selecting more expensive ones, Joie and Britax for the Jazz and Takata (Honda dealer accessory) for the City.

Originally Posted by Rohan265

This puzzled me too. This and yesterday's Hyundai comparison test did make me a bit skeptical about Global NCAP's goals.

Yes, honestly they're more concerned about putting pressure on the industry even if it means making things very confusing for consumers.

The Hyundai test has some questionable decisions, mainly the mass difference between the vehicles.

Perhaps there'll be a Latin NCAP result for the i10 soon and we'll be able to see their point: not that it justifies blaming the result on the car rather than its mass, but if it performed badly in the frontal test too the point they were trying to prove might become more clear. In any case Global NCAP are more about pressuring the industry rather than helping consumers, I will not deny that. The new ratings for July get a lot more confusing, fingers crossed how it goes. Basically they accept optional equipment if it's sold on a minimum %volume, instead of assigning a dual rating for different variants. So a person might buy a base variant of a model that has 5 stars without knowing optional side airbags were included in the test. The reason I got from them is that it will encourage manufacturers to develop new cars to fit them instead of waiting another lifecycle. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, their delivery of consumer information overall is very vague and philosophical. I mean, even if they do get the industry to make truly safer cars but don't explain to consumers what exactly they're doing, it could be useless or even worse.

[GTO]

Hahaha! Well done. I've always been a fan of this ugly duckling and now, I love the car even more. With that taller seating, narrow width, peppy engine & surprisingly good space, the S-Presso is the perfect city car / beater. It's a heck of a lot of fun from 0 - 80 kmph (scary at speeds above 90 kmph though).

[Shonith]

I am deeply impressed by the outcome. A car which has mileage and space as priority scores 3 stars. I am sure if maruti tries half hearted attempts to improve safety on small cars it will definitely give 4 stars. The Koreans would be scratching their heads now.

[DicKy]

The Spresso got 0 stars only because it didn't have passenger airbags as standard and pretensioners?

I kinda forgot and thought the dummy might have some serious hits inside the car, cause to my untrained eyes the Spresso did decently in the GNCAP Indian crash tests. The A pillar didn't buckle in and cabin deformity was limited. Much better than similar small cars (or mighty muscular SUVs) of ten years ago.

Ofcourse, and way better than some loaded vehicles crossing 20 lakhs OTR.