In the driver protection and structural stability departments, the new Swift scored disappointingly leading to the lowly overall marks
Maruti Suzuki’s latest generation Swift has been put under strenuous crash testing procedures of Global NCAP and the results are officially out in the open. Contrary to the expectations, the new Swift could only achieve two starts despite having dual front airbags and ISOFIX child mounts as standard across the range.
The adult occupant protection and child occupant protection tests secured two stars abreast. In the driver protection and structural stability departments, the new Swift scored disappointingly leading to the lowly overall marks. The high compression to driver’s chest, poor feet protection and unstable structure were cited as the reasons.
Moreover, the forward facing positioning of the one-and-half year-old dummy provided less than ideal protection while damages were found on the chest of the three-year-old dummy. In the midst of being an improvement over the previous generation Swift that recorded zero stars, it’s no secret that the model sold in India could not replicate the results of the Swift retailed in European continent.
Having not performed ideally in the frontal crash test, Global NCAP notes that side body and curtain airbags as well as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) are standard in Europe and they are not even optional in India. The organisation further says “a better safety performance is still possible” considering the decent scores of Swift sold in Japan and Europe.
The two-star rating comes in the wake of Maruti Suzuki’s Vitara Brezza achieving an impressive four stars a few weeks back in the hands of Global NCAP. Maruti Suzuki introduced the latest generation Swift at the 2018 Auto Expo with much anticipation and it has averaged well over 19,000 units monthly since entering India.
The popular hatchback is retailed in 14 trims between Rs. 4.99 lakh and Rs. 8.76 lakh (ex-showroom) in VXI, ZXI, VDI and ZDI grades. Maruti Suzuki has registered over two million unit sales of the Swift hatchback in India in the past 13 years, and we hope the top-notch seller will have its safety standards further improved in the next iterations.