Global NCAP crash tests: Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza scores four stars

In the latest crash test reports released by Global NCAP, Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza has achieved a four-star rating, while the Renault Lodgy scored zero stars. Both cars scored two stars when it came to child occupancy protection. Recently, the Tata Nexon achieved a four-star rating in the Global NCAP crash tests.

The Vitara Brezza used for the crash test was equipped with two airbags in the front and ABS as standard. As per the report, the protection offered to the head and neck of the driver and front passenger dummies was good. The driver chest had marginal protection while passenger chest had good protection in the frontal offset barrier test. According to the report, “Driver’s knees showed marginal protection and passenger’s knees marginal and good protection as they could impact with dangerous structures behind the dashboard supported by the Tranfascia tube.” The bodyshell was rated stable and capable to withstand further loadings.  In terms of child occupant protection, protection for the 18-month old baby (dummy) was poor due to forward facing position. Protection for a 3-year old child was good. The markings for the ISOFIX anchorages were also incorrect according to Global NCAP testing protocols, says the report.

Watch the crash test video of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza here.

Renault Lodgy scored a miserable zero stars for adult occupancy protection. The car used had no safety features like driver and passenger airbag, ABS, ISOFIX anchorages and seatbelt pretensioners. The zero stars result is because of the lack of airbags, due to which head and chest impacted the steering wheel. The body structure of the car was also rated unstable because of the deformations in the rear door and a rupture in the footwell area during the crash. In terms of child occupant protection, the MPV received two stars. Here the 3-year old child dummy was facing the forward position and received poor protection for the head and limited protection for the chest during the crash. The 18-month old dummy facing rearwards received good protection for head and chest.  According to the report, “The lack of ISOFIX anchorages meant that the child seats needed to be installed with adult seatbelts, that could not prevent excessive forward excursion of the 3 year old dummy which impacted its head on the driver seat backrest.”

Watch the crash test video of Renault Lodgy here. 

Here is the list of some of the cars sold in India and their Global NCAP ratings. The second column gives the number of airbags, while the third and fourth column give the adult occupancy and child occupancy protection rating. Do have a look before you set out to purchase one!