2016 Global NCAP crash test: five Indian cars receive zero stars

Come on, Zero is just a number after all and our ancestors invented it millennia ago, which in turn made the world a better place to live. Helped the scientist-ee folks with all their calculations and things, and today it's the time for our automotive products to be rewarded with this glorious number. Well, this not-so-funny-joke apart, the latest batch of Indian cars that had been sent to the Global-NCAP for their safety validation test has received zero star ratings in terms of frontal collision and adult protection.

The tested cars included some of the most popular names in the country, namely, the Maruti Celerio, Hyundai Eon, Renault Kwid, Maruti Eeco and Mahindra Scorpio. The test results clearly indicate that the safety quotient of these cars is way below the desired level and lot of improvements have to be done from the manufacturers' side. The results were announced at an event that took place in New Delhi.

Renault Kwid

The Kwid was tested using three cars, with one car taken from a pre-April batch, while the next two were post-April with more strengthening to the structure. The first car, from the pre-April batch, had no airbags and no structural integrity. The car was practically crushed from the front part with the impact of the crash reaching even the rear fenders. The driver compartment was completely crushed leaving the test dummy with fatal injuries.

The second Kwid, was a reinforced one, but without any airbags; this one seemed intact after the test but an unstable structure incapable of taking any further loads contributed towards its zero star rating.

The third Kwid had the same structure as the second Kwid but with the driver airbag. This time, the crash test dummy recorded high compression on the chest area which resulted in a zero star crash rating.

The Global NCAP team also discovered that the supposedly stronger Kwid only had reinforcements on the driver side and not on the front passenger side.

Maruti Celerio

The Maruti Celerio scored zero stars in adult occupant protection and one star in child occupant protection. The car didn't have any airbags to deal with the crash. The low child safety rating followed because the 3-year-old child dummy recorded high values of forward excursion.

Maruti Eeco

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Another car from Maruti emerged with zero-star safety rating as it failed to comply with the structural integrity norms. The popular van is not offered with optional airbags and GNCAP deemed it unsafe even if airbags are put in because of the weak structural rigidity.

Mahindra Scorpio

SUVs are usually deemed stronger due to their inherent size and shape, but this notion seems to wash away when it comes to the Scorpio, one of the most popular SUVs in India. The SUV scored zero stars in adult protection and two stars for child occupant protection. The structural collapse along with the lack of airbags led to this score and the outcome of the test indicates the probability of life threatening injuries for at least one adult passenger.

Hyundai Eon

The Hyundai Eon was also tested and it received zero stars for adult occupant protection and two stars for child occupant protection, which was explained by the lack of airbags and lowered structural strength.