The Maruti Suzuki Swift has undergone another round of testing by Global NCAP, and this time it received a fairly dismal 1-star rating for both adult and child occupant protection. Along with the Ignis, S Presso, and Mahindra Scorpio N, the Maruti Swift was evaluated as part of the second batch of vehicles under the stricter guidelines of Global NCAP, which went into effect in July of this year.
The tested model has dual front airbags, seat belt pretensioners, rear ISOFIX anchorages, and seat belt reminders. It was made in India for the Indian market. In GNCAP’s 2018 pre-facelift test, the current-generation Swift received a 2-star rating for both adult and child occupant protection.
In the adult occupant protection category, the 2022 Swift received 19.19 points out of a possible 34, including 6.3 and 12.9 points in the frontal offset deformable barrier test and the side moveable deformable barrier test, respectively.
The Swift provided good protection for the head and neck of the driver and passenger in the frontal crash test, according to GNCAP. Compared to the passenger, the driver’s chest received only fair protection. As they might come into contact with hazardous structures behind the dashboard, the driver’s and passenger’s right knees showed just fair protection, whereas the passenger’s left knee displayed excellent protection. The side impact test gave high ratings for head, abdomen, and pelvic protection, but poor ratings for chest protection.
The Swift received 16.68 out of a possible 49 points for child occupant protection. The CRS (child restraint system) installation score is 3.86 points, and the dynamic score is 12.82 points.
Both a 3-year-old child dummy and an 18-month-old child dummy, both facing forward in child seats in the back, were used to test the Swift. The child seats were able to stop the 3-year-old dummy from moving too far forward, which was good for head protection but not so good for chest protection. However, it demonstrated inadequate head and chest protection for the 18-month-old dummy. These results, once again, are comparable to the 2018 Swift’s child occupant protection.
In addition to the mandatory adherence to pedestrian protection standards, standard ESC installation, side impact test, more stringent evaluation of chest load readings on crash test dummies, and side impact test for child dummies, the new Global NCAP protocols take a lot more factors into account when testing a car. Prior to this, GNCAP’s evaluation was based only on a frontal offset crash test.
Since the Swift’s active and passive safety features haven’t changed, the new score can’t be compared directly to the old score. This means that the Swift doesn’t meet most of the stricter standards. This explains why the Swift’s safety rating was reduced from two stars in the past to one star in the present.
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