[Bismaya]

Maruti needs to up their game. If people can't pay for safer cars incase Maruti decides to increase the price and make better cars, they shouldn't buy cars in first place. Just my personal opinion. There is no excuse for mediocre cars anymore. It's like they are not trying. A safety rating never guarentees anything but it is nice to have some extent of assurance.

Of late, I've lost 2-3 friends to car crashes. From June to November. Two of them were driving Swift/Dzire's. The third person was driving a K Series WagonR. Now, my folks are scared of me taking my mint Maruti 800 on the highways and insist on taking the CSUV's which have a higher safety number for them. And sadly, I can't even blame them because you open the news and see an accident the first thing. If they are at peace of mind because of the fact that I am using a safer car for a far drive, it works for me.

Ignis has been one of those cars which I've always wanted to buy. Felt great to drive, love the engine and the pricing has been nothing short of wonderful for the offering. But for something is in the crossover/CSUV league, underlooking the safety aspects isn't understandable anymore.

P.S: GNCAP should test the old cars using the new stringent parameters.

[Siddarth_Ramani]

Bravo Mahindra, another feather on it's cap. I'm quite sure Scorpio-N deserves this years Team-BHP car of the year.



On a different note, some members are defending Maruti by questioning NCAP, nothing but slow claps


If Maruti really did up their game with safety with new models, why not send it to GNCAP for getting it tested? After all they are not a small time player, they can easily afford to send 10 copies.

[prabhu7944]

After seeing so much of bashing of maruti, must say ' wish i had their confidence'. Given that government is taxing so much on purchase of car it needs to have some basic obligation towards consumers in not allowing sale of unsafe products.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by darkfantasy

What's the need for testing these models again and again while we have later-generation models that sell in higher numbers from the same manufacturer? Is it a ploy to make their favorite manufacturers look better when eventually their cars at the budget end of the spectrum receive lesser stars because of the updated norms.? Only time will tell.

Obviously, Mahndra and Maruti do not compete with each other in their respective core segments. So that argument cannot be made against GNCAP. My only point of submission is that GNCAP should conduct comprehensive testing of all cars under production and sale in India , as per their latest standards. In addition they should fully explain the rating approach.To the lay person, there are so many things to be confused about here. 20/34 gets 1 star but 29/34 gets 5 stars? What part of this assessment is qualitative?

[roadrunner_nv]

Good Job Mahindra!

Suzuki, you got to do something better. I like the suggestion that @ashutosub gave. Let people consciously know what they are getting. Something like a 1 star out of 5 sticker on the windscreen might constantly remind them of what they are driving. Maybe make it compulsory for people to be told that it’s a 1 star car and then sign on a document that they accept it. This might affect sales but also get manufacturers moving towards safety.

At the end, safety is a moving target and no amount of stars can replace the common sense people have while driving. People miss out that these tests are conducted at almost city speeds considering that these very vehicles set land speed records on the highway.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by roadrunner_nv

Good Job Mahindra!

Suzuki, you got to do something better. I like the suggestion that @ashutosub gave. Let people consciously know what they are getting. Something like a 1 star out of 5 sticker on the windscreen might constantly remind them of what they are driving. Maybe make it compulsory for people to be told that it’s a 1 star car and then sign on a document that they accept it. This might affect sales but also get manufacturers moving towards safety.

At the end, safety is a moving target and no amount of stars can replace the common sense people have while driving. People miss out that these tests are conducted at almost city speeds considering that these very vehicles set land speed records on the highway.

Make it compulsory by whose mandate ? Government ? Insurance cos ? Who is going to officially endorse the GNCAP results ? As of current regulations specified by the government, all cars pass the stated norms. Therein lies the nub of the problem.

[skyocean]

First and foremost, let’s not use the word "Maruti" anymore, its plain "Suzuki". Suzuki deserves all the flak. Japanese demand highest respect in every walk of life, but when it comes to making money even they have taken lives for granted, this is really disrespectful in spite of Indian market being their money tree. All Japanese brands in India are doing the same.

I don't understand why people are crying foul about the GNCAP ratings, it is not a PR campaign in anyway. What's wrong in asking for better safety for Indians. Irrespective of the brand one is inclined to, bare minimum Indians deserve safer cars.The whole point is if they can deliver the same car in an EU nation with a better safety rating why can’t they do this in India. Now there will be a liberal argument that Suzuki provides cheaper cars for Indians as they cannot afford it. The cheaper the car lesser the safety argument is true and is fair to some extent. Now a car like WagonR, Alto appeals to the masses because of affordability in such cases I will reluctantly digest the fact that Suzuki is doing the greater good for the benefit of mankind, so a poor man gets a wheel. Poor lives don't matter, they only need cars to drive.

Now let’s switch context and move to a brand like Hyundai/Kia which most IT employees buy thinking its premium when compared to a Suzuki. 15-20L for a Seltos/Creta which has safety as good a Swift and doesn't drive even half as well is totally absurd. I don't think we need a Phd to tell we are getting ripped off because they have taken Indians for granted. I would love to hear the board room conversations of such brands and can only imagine how they belittle us and of how low they value our lives.

This is purely from a safety perspective, I don't want to upset any fan boys or PR agents here, but I think Indians deserve better safety and the only ones who can make this happen is me and you. Stop entertaining brands that have taken advantage of our Indianness.I was eagerly waiting for Suzuki Jimny, but at this rate I would not put my family anywhere near it.

[lina]

How come the Scorpion has side airbags? I thought GNCAP tests only the base models of these cars. And like people have mentioned here before, a lot of inconsistencies in their testing preferences. The other thing I want to point out is that the front impact test cars didnt have a sun roof. I am always concerned about how the sunroof affects the structural safety of the car. They have used different versions of the Scorpion for different tests which is not fair at all.

Cars like S-Presso getting 0 star is no surprise. I am sure even Tata punch wont score more than 2 stars with these new standards. I really wish they would test Brezza, Vitara, Harrier, Safari, Nexon

[Crank]

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

I'll make it very easy for you. Check the serial number on the cars and the video titles.

They used a different car for assessing side impact scores.

But even in that side impact test car, which is silver, the serial number is same. I hope that's not the serial number to uniquely identify a vehicle but the model that they are testing - in this case Suzuki S-Presso. So let us not confuse people in this forum.

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

But without side/curtain airbags, they are obviously going to falter... Without them, cars can only score a maximum of 2 stars.

They tested Kushaq recently with this new spec, without side/curtain air bags. Still it scored 5 star rating. So even this claim is unfortunately wrong.

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

Would they do it to any other manufacturer?

Yes, they do it. Please check the Toyota, Hyundai, Kia and others.

Originally Posted by Keeleri_Achu

I don't want to derail the Swift thread any more. We can have the discussion in any other thread if you're not satisfied with my replies.

Even I don't want to. Just thought of clarifying a few things. Thanks.

Originally Posted by viXit

This is such a sorted car for being a city runabout!
And being an entry level automatic, considering its price I am totally fine shifting with tiptronic to save my neck. But I'll never get those images out of my head. We all started with an MSIL car in the family, so I know there will always be a buyer who will be over the moon with this first car. Like a friend once said, "why deny the bike guy mobility by making cars more expensive".

I sympathise, and think it's not that bad a car after all.

Absolutely. It's a fun to drive car. My driving history started with my reliable MS Zen VXi. Swift was the natural choice from Zen. Everything is good except for its safety rating. Suzuki's treatment of Europeans vs Indians in terms of safety was a big let down for me.

[Kosfactor]

Those who are in the budget of a Celerio or Maruti Swift is not concerned about these things, It is about how economical they are to run, maintain etc. They are not poor by any means but their priorities are different in terms of how much they can spend on a car.

A decade ago if you ask me what car I can afford for my daily commute - I will take an Alto (In reality I bought a Nano and lets leave it at that).

If I am starting my career now and my affordability is around 5-10 Lakhs, I`ll still take a Maruti - eyes closed.

[Sheel]

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Thanks for the support & understanding.

[ozeross]

The purchaser of this segment of Maruti vehicles has a different set of top priorities in which safety is not high up the list. The top priorities include: Cost of the car, fuel economy, service cost/availability, resale value. All of these are best met by Maruti brand and hence these are best sellers of their respective segment month on month despite of 1 star safety rating. I don't expect any impact as a result of these ratings to their sales. However, its good to put this in front of the buyer for them to be educated.

[lemedico]

Unlike the occupants of these vehicles during a crash, the sales numbers are rather immune to such tests.
The cars will sell, Maruti's stock will rise each year.
Its a mere handful of Bhpians who really consider star ratings while getting a car for the family and their safety!

[Naparajito]

Safety should not be begged like this. Safety should be a standard. Shame that Japanese manufacturers who run the company because of Indians provide us with the worst possible cars/technology available to them.

[CrossLife]

Originally Posted by dust-n-bones

While I congratulate Mahindra, that side impact test at 50kmph does highlight the toppling tendency with these 'tall-boy' designs

Guess what, I think the car has toppled over.