While fuel efficiency continues to influence a major share of Indian car buyers’ decision in buying a new car, the government’s push for safer vehicles in order to safeguard lives and property seemed to have encouraged car manufacturers to build strong and sturdy vehicles.
And they do not forget to flaunt their safety ratings through advertisements too, which has begun to reflect in their sales figures as more and more people are gradually preferring safety over mileage.
As far as vehicle safety ratings go, Global New Car Assessment Programme (GNCAP) is by far the go to organisation for car manufacturers to test their cars.
In India too, GNCAP 5-Star rated cars are gradually growing.
Let us see the current lot of cars sold in India which have the highest safety ratings.
Tata Harrier & Safari facelift
When we talk about car safety, the Tatas have an impeccable track record of providing strong and sturdy cars in the market. The two updated SUVs, Harrier and Safari are now the safest offerings as per Global NCAP with the highest test scores yet. The adult safety score was a near-perfect 34.04/35 whereas the child safety score was 45/49. The body shell was rated as stable.
Volkswagen Virtus & Taigun
The Volkswagen Virtus and Taigun received a 5-star rating from Global NCAP for both adult and children. The cars come with safety features such as six airbags, electronic stability control, Hill Hold Assist, Multi-collision brakes, park distance control, roll over protection and more. The Volkswagen Virtus is priced starting at Rs 11.48 lakh in India and the Taigun starts at Rs 11.61 lakh.
Skoda Slavia & Kushaq
The Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun were the first MQB A0 IN-based offerings to be crash-tested by the Global NCAP. Both scored a full five stars in safety but the adult occupant protection score was lower than that of the sedan offerings. The adult safety score sat at 29.64/34 whereas the child occupant protection score was 42/49. The Skoda Slavia, which is similar to Virtus, also received a 5-star rating from Global NCAP for both adults and children.
Mahindra Scorpio N & XUV 700
Mahindra also marked its entry in the five-star category with the Scorpio N, which received 29.25/34 for adult safety and 28.93/49 in child safety. The bodyshell and footwell integrity were rated stable. XUV700, the company’s premium SUV, has received a 5-star Global NCAP rating for adult occupants and 4-star rating for children. The car offers features such as seven airbags, electronic stability program, ABS, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control and more. Its price starts at Rs 16.5 lakh in India.
Hyundai Verna
The Verna is the first made-in-India offering from Hyundai that received a five-star rating in adult as well as child safety. The adult score was 28.18/34 and child safety score was 42/49. However, the catch was that the bodyshell and footwell integrity were rated unstable and incapable of withstanding further loads.
It is noteworthy to mention that the Indian government recently launched its own vehicle safety rating programme, Bharat NCAP (BNCAP) which costs way too less than the GNCAP to test a car. It is expected to encourage more and more car manufacturers to send for tests in order to determine their safety ratings.