The Mahindra XUV300 is the first car in Africa to be awarded a 5-star safety rating in Global NCAP crash test
Mahindra & Mahindra has been making great progress in terms of vehicle safety in recent times. In 2020, Mahindra XUV300 became the safest made-in-India vehicle as per Global NCAP crash test safety rating, scoring a 5-star safety rating for adults and a 4-star safety rating for child occupants.
Global NCAP also conducts tests for cars in the African market, and Mahindra has managed to ace that crash test as well! The Africa-spec XUV300 has been awarded a 5-star rating for adult occupant protection (16.42 out of 17 points), and a 4-star rating for child occupant protection (37.44 out of 49 points). The vehicle also managed to score a ‘stable’ rating for the body shell, and the footwell area was rated stable as well.
According to the fact sheet, the protection provided to the front passenger was good in all aspects. For the driver, the protection was adequate for the chest and left leg, and good everywhere else. For child occupants, the vehicle offers ISOFIX mounts and top tether anchor points as standard, and the protection offered to test dummies of 3-month and 18-month children was good.
The vehicle comes standard with dual front airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, seatbelt reminders, and ABS on all four wheels. In case a child seat needs to be installed in the front passenger seat, there’s a switch for turning off the front passenger airbag. Under the #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign, Global NCAP has been promoting vehicle safety in Africa since 2017.
David Ward, President of Towards Zero Foundation, said: “We are delighted to see the first five star result in our Safer Cars for Africa project. This is a landmark moment for vehicle safety in Africa. We are particularly pleased to recognise the continued safety commitment from Mahindra. The XUV300 was engineered in India and demonstrates the capability of the domestic Indian auto industry to achieve excellence in safety design and performance for global export markets.”
The Africa-spec Mahindra XUV300 is available with the same two engine options as the Indian version. The first one is a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol motor, which can generate 110 PS and 200 Nm. The second one is a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel, which good for 117 PS and 300 Nm. However, the African model only has a 6-speed manual transmission on offer.