Maruti Suzuki S-Presso Safer In Africa As Compared To India: Reports

The car’s poor performance also triggered a Twitter war between Tata and the carmaker, as five of Tata cars are in the list of top 10 safest cars in India.

The Maruti Suzuki economical car S-Presso after failing the Global NCAP crash test in which the car scored zero stars, has drawn criticism for failing to reach the minimum safety standards. The car’s poor performance also triggered a Twitter war between Tata and the carmaker, as five of Tata cars are in the list of top 10 safest cars in India. Meanwhile, the Suzuki cars manufactured in South Africa are much safer than the ones being produced in India. According to a recently published report, Suzuki Auto South Africa’s national brand manager Brendon Carpenter stated the Suzuki S-Presso available there is safer than the Indian spec model which was tested by the Global NCAP. "The model that was used in the crash test is an Indian-specced model that is built exclusively for the Indian market. That particular model only features an airbag on the driver’s side and it also doesn’t have front seatbelts that feature pre-tensioners with load limiters,” the brand manager said. "In South Africa, a driver and passenger airbag are standard across the S-Presso range, along with front seatbelts that include pre-tensioners with load limiters. The additional airbag and seatbelt enhancements make the local model a much safer vehicle. The S-Presso offers good value, but not at the expense of safety,” he further added. In the latest Global NCAP crash test, the S-Presso failed to earn any stars in the latest round of safety ratings. As the car only gets a driver-side airbag, the car failed when tested for adult occupant protection. In the test, the dummies placed inside the S-Presso were found with significant impact to the neck and chest areas. According to the test report, the Driver’s chest showed poor protection, and the passenger’s chest showed weak protection. Driver’s knees showed marginal protection as they could impact dangerous structures behind the dashboard supported by the Tranfascia tube while the passenger’s knees showed good protection. The test also noted that there are no pretensions on the front seats, the rear middle occupant does not get a three-point seatbelt and there is no ISOFIX anchorages for the Child Restraint Systems (CRS).