[ron178]

The Japan New Car Assessment Programme has announced a five-star safety rating for the Honda WR-V, which is the Japan-spec version of the Elevate, made in India.

The Japan-spec WR-V has additional safety features over the Indian Elevate, like rear seatbelt pretensioners and pedal misapplication prevention.

https://youtu.be/Ya8yTIok5gM?si=FJdlRe0en9GMbGiE

The WR-V scored 4/5 for whiplash protection, pedestrian head protection, seatbelt reminders, headlights, and pedal misapplication prevention, and 5/5 in other active safety and crash protection tests.

The full result is on JNCAP's website.

Test report (English and Japanese)

[FlyingHelmet]

Considering the car is manufactured in India and exported to Japan, the quality should be same. Let's send it to BNCAP at least. Honda shall realise that the marketing plays a huge role in sales. If they're able to score 5 in Bharat NCAP, it could boost their sales.

It's a robust vehicle. Found this picture in some Facebook group, shared by the owner himself. This was a head on collision at good speed and all the passengers are safe and were 100% okay.

[ron178]

It looks like JNCAP has penalised the silly seatbelt reminders on the Elevate (it gets a 4/5). Reason = you can sit unbelted in the rear, and the car will still stay quiet, unless you fasten and then unfasten a belt. Related thread (Rear seatbelt reminder mandate | Just not good enough)

Its audio signal gets points only for "change of status alarm", not "back seat alarm". Sadly it's the kind of system most Indian cars are now getting, and something GNCAP is awarding full points for.





The 5/5 Toyota Crown for comparison:

[prakhar1998]

Honestly, concluding that the Elevate sold in India will perform identically wouldn't be wise.

It could very well be, and I am sure is - two different assembly lines which could have completely different supply chains and designs.

Let's wait for a test of the car actually sold in India; might I suggest that the title of this post can be a little dangerous, especially since we find comfort in jumping the gun with things like this in India.

[JediKnight]

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

Honestly, concluding that the Elevate sold in India will perform identically wouldn't be wise.

It could very well be, and I am sure is - two different assembly lines which could have completely different supply chains and designs.

Let's wait for a test of the car actually sold in India; might I suggest that the title of this post can be a little dangerous, especially since we find comfort in jumping the gun with things like this in India.

That is true. The safety rating of "car supplied in India" is more important than "made in India". Even on the same assembly line cars with different structural integrities can be made. It may just boil down to not welding a high strength steel component to the frame. We know of several such cases where the export versions of the same car were heavier and of higher safety standard even when emanating from the same plant.

[Mitadru]

Originally Posted by JediKnight

That is true. The safety rating of "car supplied in India" is more important than "made in India". Even on the same assembly line cars with different structural integrities can be made. It may just boil down to not welding a high strength steel component to the frame. We know of several such cases where the export versions of the same car were heavier and of higher safety standard even when emanating from the same plant.

I would restrain from saying so. They're no Maruti ,Hyundai or Renault that they'll intentionally sell less safer cars. You can associate them with reliability, but for them it never comes at the cost of safety. I am no Honda fanatic, but I can confidently say that if the real life scenarios in which Honda City has saved lives has confirmed its reputationas a safe car, the Elevate will also be able to do so. And the last thing Honda India would want is a reputation for building unsafe cars. India is no longer considering gimmicks alone ( case in point the Syros) ,which has caused manufacturers to up their game.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

Honestly, concluding that the Elevate sold in India will perform identically wouldn't be wise.
…might I suggest that the title of this post can be a little dangerous, especially since we find comfort in jumping the gun with things like this in India.

Indeed, as the title says, the rating is for Japan. And as I have mentioned in the opening post, the WR-V exported to Japan has extra safety equipment to conquer JNCAP, like rear seatbelt pretensioners. That might seem unimportant, but remember JNCAP does have a frontal test with a small adult in the rear seat, while GNCAP/BNCAP still only have infants in child seats.

The Japanese model also has advanced SOS eCall and wrong-pedal acceleration suppression. The latter makes it eligible to be driven with a new type of restricted licence the Japanese government is promoting elderly drivers to switch to. It is also tested by JNCAP and good performance is required for 5 stars.

I am also not sure if the Indian one has lap pretensioners up front like the Japanese one does.

[carhead]

Originally Posted by ron178

The Japan New Car Assessment Programme has announced a five-star safety rating for the Honda WR-V, which is the Japan-spec version of the Elevate, made in India.

Thanks Ron. As usual can you please cut through the jargon and explain:

1. Can we safely say JNCAP is more stringent than India's G/BNCAP.
2. What are the misses in this result.
3. If same car (with rear seat-belt pretensioner etc) undergoes Indias tests would it score 5 stars?
4. Can Honda officially tomtom JNCAP result in India?

Thanks in advance.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by carhead

1. Can we safely say JNCAP is more stringent than India's G/BNCAP.

In general it is much wider-ranging in what it assesses, and even the individual tests are tougher (they are now using the new Euro NCAP frontal impact, and the side impact is faster and with a heavier trolley). The ADAS tests are quite advanced. But they don't have a pole test for example.

Originally Posted by carhead

2. What are the misses in this result.

The wrong-pedal intervention braking doesn't detect pedestrians, its rear seatbelt reminders don't have occupant detection and the visual alert cannot be seen from the rear seat (many cars have a panel in the roof), its headlamps lost out somewhere, and its whiplash protection was less-than-best.

Originally Posted by carhead

3. If same car (with rear seat-belt pretensioner etc) undergoes Indias tests would it score 5 stars?

No idea, as not a single test is identical, and even the scoring structure, weightages of body parts, and test items (eg. modifiers) are different. Even the frontal test dummy is much more advanced. AFAIK none of the extra equipment would make a difference in GNCAP, as GNCAP does not have any test where it helps. The only thing that I know could make a difference — and I am not sure of — is whether the Indian car has lap pretensioners or not.

Originally Posted by carhead

Can Honda officially tomtom JNCAP result in India

JNCAP themselves frown upon it. As a press release to show their export capability, maybe. But not in marketing material (webpage/brochure/TVCs).

[noo.b]

Well to assume that the car sold in Japan is the same as the one sold in India would be a big assumption, if we know one thing about car companies, irrespective of their country of origin, its that they are unethical and will do sly stuff to protect their margins. Hyundai, VW , GM, Renault, MS, Kia have all been caught with their pants down.

However, if Honda is indeed selling the same / similar car here in India then this should be an encouraging result for them and they must voluntarily get their car tested for BNCAP.

However, not getting it tested would pretty much establish that the car sold here in India is of inferior standards, which is my assumption anyway

[FlyingHelmet]

Originally Posted by noo.b

Well to assume that the car sold in Japan is the same as the one sold in India would be a big assumption, if we know one thing about car companies, irrespective of their country of origin, its that they are unethical and will do sly stuff to protect their margins. Hyundai, VW , GM, Renault, MS, Kia have all been caught with their pants down.

However, if Honda is indeed selling the same / similar car here in India then this should be an encouraging result for them and they must voluntarily get their car tested for BNCAP.

However, not getting it tested would pretty much establish that the car sold here in India is of inferior standards, which is my assumption anyway

I would agree to the last point. They definitely need to try for BNCAP as that would actually boost the sales for them if they manage to score 5. These days, new Indian drivers are very much obsessed with Ratings. Safety ratings are the reason why Tata sells good these days despite lot of quality issues.

[carhead]

Originally Posted by noo.b

Hyundai, VW , GM, Renault, MS, Kia have all been caught with their pants down.

That is poor practice. Can you share specific information /links substantiating this please.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by carhead

That is poor practice. Can you share specific information /links substantiating this please.

Hyundai i10 1st-gen, made in India for India vs made in India for Europe.
Chevrolet Aveo, made in Mexico for Mexico vs made in Mexico for the US.
Renault Kwid, made in India for South Africa vs made in India for Brazil (CKD).

As someone fond of Honda, I would like to believe the Elevate will do well. They do have a reasonably solid track record at GNCAP, that is certain; and I doubt they would change that at a time when Indian consumers have begun to care so much about crash ratings. But a result for the local car will prove (or disprove) it. I hope it happens soon

[carhead]

Originally Posted by ron178

I hope it happens soon

Thanks.

If Honda is confident, can't (& shouldn't) they sponsor the test. If correct why would they delay this.

Look at Kylaq- safety rating was announced within 3 months of launch.

Honda should be desperate to increase domestic Elevate Sales. Or am I missing something. Maybe there are capacity constraints due to which its more prudent to focus on JDM with its higher ticket size?

Something doesn't add up.

[ron178]

Originally Posted by carhead

If Honda is confident, can't (& shouldn't) they sponsor the test.

I don't know if it's some policy Honda has/had, or just that GNCAP is expensive because of the logistics, but in the past they have not sponsored tests even when they have had products capable of doing incredibly well, like the Jazz and Amaze which were bought by GNCAP. So far, the only GNCAP result for a Honda where they paid for testing is an additional test on the the Mobilio with optional airbags fitted.

As a Honda fan myself it makes little sense to me that they would not do it, but then I am given to understand that is the case with a lot of other things they do (or don't, rather) in India. But again, I hope that changes very soon.