[Auto] Suzuki fails new Global NCAP tests

[FNX Magokiler]

Global NCAP has just announced its second list of results after the adjustment and tightening of security tests for India. Of course, Suzuki, being one of the most important players in that market, went to the blackboard with three locally produced models, such as the Ignis, the S-Presso and the Swift.

Unfortunately, none of the three models stood out in the reviews, earning only one star. As always, these tests are carried out taking into account the most basic models available in your test market, that is, they are not exactly the models that are sold in our country, although in some cases they are quite close.

In Chile, the Ignis -already discontinued- comes from Japan, while the Swift has Indian and Japanese versions. The Suzuki S-Presso is also Indian. As ESP is mandatory in Chile, the safety standard should be higher, however, the first comment made in the report is that all the chassis and body structures proved to be unstable, especially in frontal crashes. There are other tests that are required to raise the score but are only done when you have certain safety devices, such as curtain airbags for side-impact tests with a pole, which were not done.

In the case of the Ignis and the S-Presso, there were no recommendations on the use of child seats, considering that none of these models is equipped with ISOFIX in the tested versions. This results in both of them having no child protection scores.

The evaluations

Regarding Suzuki's smaller car, it scored 8.13 points in the frontal impact evaluation and 11.9 with the side barrier. The most critical damage is in the driver's chest area, with marginal damage to the driver's legs and passenger's chest. The rest of the zones of both dummies alternate between good and adequate. In the case of a side impact, the upper extremities receive a marginal evaluation, while the hip and pelvis have a good evaluation.

The bodywork and firewall section were declared unstable, which means that structural rigidity is severely compromised.

 

 

It is striking that the Indian Swift scored 6.3 points in the frontal crash test, with critical injuries to the driver's feet, weak protection to the driver's thorax, marginal evaluation on the thighs of both occupants and the rest, an evaluation of adequate to good. In the side test, the head protection puts it ahead of the S-Presso, but the evaluation for the thorax is very weak, scoring 12.9 points. This is all worth noting, considering that the Swift is a larger, more modern development car.

Something very particular happened with the Ignis, the side impact test was really critical, with a weak evaluation for the head and poor (the lowest) for the thorax, which gives it 6.91 points, almost half of that of the Swift. In frontal impact, it comes out better with 9.6 points, without poor evaluations, but with weak protection for the driver's body, marginal for the thighs and between adequate and good for the heads and feet.

The Ignis firewall has a more rigid structure than both models mentioned, but the bodywork does compromise structural rigidity.

what was said
David Ward, chief executive of the Towards Zero Foundation said: "Once again it is disappointing that Maruti Suzuki has failed to keep up with the safety advances made by its competitors. At least now, new Indian government safety regulations will force the company to apply minimum security standards. However, they should care about their customers and do even better."

When Ward refers to his competitors, he mainly refers to the brands rather than the product: the new generation Mahindra Scorpio scored five stars.

Fortunately, thanks to the fact that ESP has become the norm in Chile, the cars will come with more equipment. In some cases, ESP is bundled with other security packages, leading us to believe that the standard will go up. However, ideally there should be no first world safety and third world safety, but a high minimum standard for all cars in all markets, from the most basic model and that this not only has to do with assists, but also with an improvement of the structures and bodies.

 

https://noticias.autocosmos.cl/2022/12/12/suzuki-reprueba-las-nuevas-pruebas-de-global-ncap