VW Virtus Secures 5 Stars In Latin NCAP Safety Test, But There’s a Small Caveat

• VW Virtus tested by Latin NCAP was made-in-India. 
• It came decked with Autonomous Emergency Braking and Collision Avoidance Assist, both not offered in India. 
• One area where the VW didn’t impress is pedestrian protection.
• India-spec model expected to secure a similar score. 

Recently, Global NCAP tested the VW Taigun and Skoda Kushaq and both compact SUVs secured an impressive five stars in the safety tests. While the India 2.0 sedan twins, namely the Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia, are yet to be crash-tested, Latin NCAP has done the Virtus’ safety assessment, which the sedan aced, securing a very impressive five stars. 

There’s a small caveat, though. The sedan tested by the more stringent Latin NCAP had a few advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and Collision Avoidance Assist (CAA) on board. The rest of the safety kit comprising six airbags, electronic stability control, ISOFIX anchorages, and three-point seat belts for all occupants are the same as the Indian model. 

Now to the overall scores: the Virtus scored 92 per cent in Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP). Its Safety Assist (SA) was rated at 82 per cent, while the Pedestrian Protection (PP) score wasn’t impressive at 53 per cent. 

Adult Occupant Protection 

VW’s sedan offered good protection to both front occupants’ head, neck and knees. Protection to the driver’s chest was adequate, while the co-driver’s chest had good protection. The driver’s tibias and co-driver’s left tibia had adequate protection, while the passenger’s right tibia had good protection. 

In the side pole impact test, the head, abdomen and pelvis protection was good, while protection to the chest was marginal. The footwell and bodyshell were rated stable, while the latter is capable of taking further beatings as well. 

Child Occupant Protection 

Both the three-year old and 1.5-year-old child dummies were fitted in rearward-facing child seats with support legs. The heads of both child dummies had full protection and the child seats offered enough shielding even in the side impact test. The ISOFIX anchorages meet I-size marking requirements, while Latin NCAP also appreciated the fact that the Virtus gets three-point seat belts for all three rear occupants. 

Safety Assist And Pedestrian Protection

One should bear in mind that the Virtus tested by Latin NCAP had AEB and CAA fitted on it, both of which aren’t offered in India. These features meet Latin NCAP’s technical and availability requirements. In the moose test, which requires putting the car through some fast manoeuvres, the sedan reached a maximum speed of 95kmph under ADAC Moose test and 70kmph under Consumer magazine Moose test, which are impressive.

Where the sedan really fell a bit short was with pedestrian protection, where the pedestrian’s upper leg received poor protection. 

So What Does This Mean For The Indian Model? 

Since the Virtus tested by Latin NCAP was made-in-India, one can expect a similar score for the Indian model. And considering that the Skoda Slavia is also essentially the same car underneath its skin, the Skoda could also rack up a nearly similar score. These two models are one of the safest cars in their segment, which also consists of cars such as the Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz.