Global NCAP’s safer cars for India ranks the safest cars in India

Ever since an Indian automaker like Tata started focusing on safety of the vehicle, and due to growing demands in safety by consumers, automakers were challenged to step up and make driving a secure and comfortable experience. Believe it or not, automakers in India didn’t really look at safety as a primary concern (some still don’t).

But, as soon as Tata’s efforts started paying off with customer demands and a desire for safety, all automakers followed suit. The NCAP( new car assessment program) is a car safety program tasked with evaluating new automobiles against various practical threats.

The Global NCAP has come out with a list of cars available in India, ordered by decreasing rating, that fall under the ‘affordable’ category.

These results are the outcomes of testing conducted by the organization from 2014-2020 that includes more than 38 assessments. This has played a vital role in the improvement of safety standards for Indian cars as part of the #SaferCarsForIndia initiative.

GNCAP tests are completely voluntary, it’s up to the manufacturer if they want to submit the product or not. The evaluation is primarily focused on two criteria: (i) Adult occupant protection(AOP)
(ii) Child occupant protection(COP)

The Takeaway

It’s definitely a good feeling to see that Indian automakers hold the best 5 rankings. The major holder being Tata, with 4/5 positions. The 4-metre SUV from Mahindra(the XUV300) scores the highest and is awarded the GNCAP’s Safer choice award. The XUV300 also won the #SaferCarsForIndia award and is the only one on the list with 4-stars for Child occupant protection. The top 3 cars are as follows:

Mahindra XUV300:

The small SUV scored scored 5-stars for Adult occupant protection and 4-stars for Child occupant protection.

• ABS with EBD
• Rear Parking Sensors
• Isofix child-seat mounts
• Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
• Corner Braking Control
• Hill Start Assist
• 2 Airbags( this was the variant used for testing, the top end has 7 airbags)
• Seat-belt reminders

Tata Altoz:

The premium hatchback was the second Tata model to receive a 5-star rating(AOP) from the GNCAP. Though it did not test quite well for Child occupant protection, securing a 3-star rating.

• 2 Airbags
• ABS with EBD
• Seat-belt reminders
• Rear Parking Sensors
• Isofix child-seat mounts
• Voice alerts
• Corner Stability Control (CSC)
• Fog Lamps

Tata Nexon:

After certain upgrades, the Nexon became India’s first 5-star(AOP) rating awarded car by the GNCAP. The COP stands as 3-stars.

• Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
• Electronic Traction Control
• Hill Hold Assist
• ABS with EBD
• Isofix Mounts
• Rear Parking Assist Camera
• Seat-belt Reminder

The test results have given us a clear picture of where we stand on safety. There’s no doubt that with upcoming BSVI variants, majority of cars will have upgraded features and measures that promote the safety and well-being of consumers.