[turbospooler]

I am starting this thread with mixed emotions of anger and frustration. (The limited usage of smileys means my emotions will need to stay bottled up.)

I happened to notice this some time ago but what really pushed me towards penning this was recent flurry of travels I had to take by road.

In this thread, let us collate the list of safety features which are essential, even though our Governments are focusing on higher end safety features like airbags and neglecting these basic ones.

Of course, we need to start the list with Maruti-Suzuki:

i) Day-Night IRVM is missing from Tour models and lower variants : I find this ridiculous that Maruti-Suzuki went to the lengths to remove this. Whatever INR 100/- saved from this is definitely not worth blinding the drivers at night and creating a recipe for disaster.
ii) Read defogger is missing from Tour models and lower variants: I mean, who needs increased visibility in rains and foggy conditions? Is it really that expensive to consider this as essential?

Honda Jazz:
i) The car (atleast my SV variant) doesn't auto-lock the doors when we gain speed.

Feel free to add in other features deleted by manufacturers which are absolutely essential and much more useful than creature comforts.

[d-g-p]

TPMS is one such basic feature which we should expect from base model of any 10 lakh+ cars. Imagine driving at night time with a tyre going flat in highway and if you are alone. This has happened to me few times including day time.
In Grand Vitara and Toyota Hyryder you find TPMS only in top model eCVT version. This feature is included in genuine accessory list of TOYOTA for about 5-6 k. No information if it is included in Grand Vitara accesory package. Also not known if this feature is compatible with infotainment system or MID of Mild hybrid models. Even Brezza misses TPMS for the price it is asking.
Though Auto dipper (smart headlamp / auto headlight beam) has not become popular in mainstream cars, it is one feature ignored by most OEM. Few has given it as part of ADAS only. This can add to convenience as well as safety during night time driving.

[fhdowntheline]

Got my new Tiago a while back, and for for some strange reason TML has deleted the rear parking sensor while retaining the rear camera in the XZ Plus variant, whats more, dealer is not authorized to fit one as an accessory . Its a different matter as to whether a car like a Tiago needs it, but wasnt this supposed to be mandatory by law ? Or is there some escape clause that I am missing?

[GTO]

The worst practice is some manufacturers giving rear wash & wiper only in the top variants of their hatchbacks / compact SUVs. This is unpardonable, IMHO. For all body styles other than sedans, a rear wash / wipe is absolutely mandatory during the monsoons, as visibility from the rear windscreen becomes effectively zero when it's raining, or when it gets dirty from highway driving.

Owners then have to resort to DIYs & the after-market, like BHPian Xaos636 did in this thread (DIY: Rear Wiper fitment in Hyundai Venue SX+ DCT). Imagine selling a car with a high-tech turbo-petrol engine, fast dual-clutch AT, but not a rear wiper ???

[Malyaj]

These are obvious tactics to push buyers to higher variants. The most unhealthy trend is pushing rear wiper into the top variants. It screams opportunistic behaviour.

IMO, all safety features should start from base variant itself. They can add gizmos like Auto AC, 10inch screens, ventilated seats, sunroof, telematics etc in higher variants. But I know this is never going to happen.

[Shreyans_Jain]

The rear wash wipe is a most critical feature that all manufacturers are increasingly taking liberties with. This nifty little feature should be mandatory by law in a country like ours. Instead, just about every car make offers it only in the top or at best the one from top variant. Even in 18-20L cars like XUV700 and Seltos. Then there is Citroen, which has simply not bothered to equip the C3 with this at all! Sad state of affairs.

[deathwalkr]

Not having rear disc brakes on 20L 150hp cars! (I'm looking at you VW Virtus Skoda Slavia)!

[DicKy]

Kudos to Nissan that the Magnite has rear wash/wipe as standard from base itself, though the 1.0l NA engine i just meh.

Then we have companies who gives us sunroof, but can't give rear wipers.

Maybe just like ABS/airbags/rear sensors, it should be stipulated by law, that any vehicle which has a hatchback liftgate or tailgate should have rear wash/wipe as standard.

And may I add, give ESP if there is even a mention of the term 'SUV' in their marketing material. If the Spresso can have, so can 200+ bhp vehicles

[The Mechanic]

If I had the authority to do so, I would have made the following items standard on all vehicles

1. Adjustable headrests and proper seat belts for all passengers.
2. Rear wash/wipe and defogger (Including sedans).
3. CAN Bus based system that checks the car and reports any issues to the driver especially for safety related lights such as turn indicators, brake lights etc. (FIAT Punto and Linea owners will understand why this is useful. Pretty sure some other vehicles also have these).
4. Rear fog lamps.
5. ESP and Roll over mitigation.
6. Proper under-body protections - such a metal engine sump guard, guards for fuel lines, brake lines, critical wiring lines etc.

[AYP]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Its a different matter as to whether a car like a Tiago needs it, but wasnt this supposed to be mandatory by law ? Or is there some escape clause that I am missing?

The Government mandate stated that rear parking 'aid' is mandatory. Most manufacturers chose to take the rear parking sensor approach and add the camera in higher variants. IIRC, either the current gen GLA or the previous GLA also only had a rear camera and no sensors. Looks like Tata has joined this bandwagon.

[RedTerrano]

Scary! Some of the deleted features are no longer luxury but very essential for safety.
I wonder how much of these are caused by the chip shortage.

When the chinese virus struck across the globe, like everyone else, the auto industry also suffered from chip shortage. I remember reading a thread here (can't recall it right now) where companies had started offering discounts against unavailable features due to no chips to implement those features.

[Rahul Rao]

I consider the rear fog lamp very essential for visiblity, many companies supplied them at first and then deleted them. Quiet a few provide only one rear fog lamp, that too even in premium models.

Rahul

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by Rahul Rao

I consider the rear fog lamp very essential for visiblity, many companies supplied them at first and then deleted them. Quiet a few provide only one rear fog lamp, that too even in premium models.

Rahul

Back when the first swift came out, it had a rear fog lamp and not many people how to turn it on and what it was for. Solution? Took it to nearest car service and connected the light with the brake light system!

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

Got my new Tiago a while back, and for for some strange reason TML has deleted the rear parking sensor while retaining the rear camera in the XZ Plus variant, whats more, dealer is not authorized to fit one as an accessory . Its a different matter as to whether a car like a Tiago needs it, but wasnt this supposed to be mandatory by law ? Or is there some escape clause that I am missing?

This is crazy. XT,XT(O) variant have sensor and display whereas the XZ+ has only camera! I feel the feature distribution in the facelift tiago across the variants does not make any sense at all. I feel parking sensors are more valuable than camera.

We have a 2018 Tiago XZA which has all the necessary stuff except the projector headlamps, Auto Climate Control and the touch screen display. Apart from the projector headlamps, I do not miss the other two. And the projector headlamps can be retrofitted easily. I observe that Tata went of feature cutting spree post 2018 starting with 2 parking sensors

[Achilles]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

Honda Jazz:
i) The car (atleast my SV variant) doesn't auto-lock the doors when we gain speed.

My 2019 model Tiago XZ+ had this feature. But during my last service, they did some update and deleted this feature. TATA motors told this was deleted for the 5 star safety compliance. Strange!