Global NCAP’s ‘Safer Cars for India’ program has proved to be salient in emphasising on producing safer cars, and 6 out of the 10 safest cars today, come from Indian manufacturers
Unlike a few years ago, a car’s safety rating has become one of the most crucial aspects that Indians consider while buying a new car. Nonetheless, safety features have been considered a luxury, and manufacturers still tend to reserve a majority of the safety tech for the range-topping versions of their respective offerings.
The Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Program)’s ‘Safer Cars for India’ campaign that was originally commenced in 2014, has been a real eye opener for the Indian government and automakers operating in the country. The campaign resulted in the government highlighting vehicular safety, and adopting more stringent crash and safety requirements for cars sold in India.
Since 2014, Global NCAP has tested a range of Indian cars under the aforementioned campaign, and it has helped us put together this list of the top 10 safest cars currently on sale in the Indian market –
1. Mahindra XUV300
The Mahindra XUV300 was awarded the Global NCAP’s first-ever ‘Safer Choice’ Award, given to Indian cars achieving the highest levels of safety performance. The XUV300 achieved a 5-star rating for adult occupant protection and 4 stars for child occupant safety in Global NCAP’s crash test.
The safety features on offer with the Mahindra XUV300 include first-in-segment seven airbags, front and rear parking sensors, ESP with Roll-over Mitigation, all 4 disc brakes, Corner Braking Control, ABS with EBD, Hill Start Assist, front and rear fog lamps, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a rear parking camera, making it the safest car sold in India.
2. Tata Altroz
The Altroz secured a 5-star rating for adult occupant protection and a 3-star safety rating for child occupancy in the Global NCAP crash test, with the bodyshell integrity rated stable. This makes Altroz the safest hatchback in the country as of now. The car comes equipped with safety features like dual front airbags, ABS with EBD and Corner Stability Control, parking assistance and voice alert warnings if the doors or tailgate are open.
3. Tata Nexon
Another 5-star rated car from the house of Tata is the Nexon sub-4m SUV. The Nexon scored 5 stars for adult occupant protection, and 3 stars for child occupancy in the Global NCAP crash test. The sub-4m SUV was actually the first car in India to achieve a 5-star safety rating in the said test, helping set a benchmark for all other cars in the country.
4. Mahindra Thar
The Mahindra Thar is the newest entrant in this list, and the only body-on-frame car here. As a matter of fact, the Mahindra Thar is the safest body-on-frame SUV, as per Global NCAP’s crash test. The Mahindra Thar received four stars for adult occupant protection and four stars for child occupants. The SUV also meets the side impact UN 95 regulation.
5. Volkswagen Polo
The Volkswagen Polo was the safest car sold in India at one point of time. The hatchback managed to score a 4-star rating for adult occupant protection back in 2014, which is a commendable feat since the two airbags were the only safety feature on offer at that time. However, the Polo now additionally gets traction control, ISOFIX child-seat anchorages, ESC, hill-start assist, rear parking sensors and a rear parking camera as well.
6. Tata Tiago/Tigor
Both the Tiago and Tigor were tested by Global NCAP last year, and the cars managed to score a 4-star safety rating for adult occupant protection, along with 3 stars for child occupancy. Both the Tata sub-4m cars are offered with best-in-class safety equipment including two airbags, rear parking camera, reverse parking sensors, ABS with EBD and Corner Stability Control, driver & passenger seat belt reminder etc.
7. Mahindra Marazzo
The Mahindra Marazzo managed to secure 4 stars in adult occupant protection and 2 stars in child occupant protection in the Global NCAP crash test, making it the safest MPV in India rated by the organisation. Furthermore, the Mahindra Marazzo’s bodyshell integrity was rated stable.
8. Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza
Based on the Suzuki Global C platform, the Vitara Brezza is currently the safest Maruti Suzuki car in India. The SUV secured a 4-star rating in adult occupant safety, but the child occupant protection was rated at just 2 stars in Global NCAP crash test. On the safety front, the Vitara Brezza gets two airbags, ABS with EBD, front seat belts with pretensioners, a driver’s side seat-belt reminder and ISOFIX child-seat mounts as standard.
| Car | Adult Occupant Safety | Child Occupant Safety |
| 1. Mahindra XUV300 | 5 stars | 4 stars |
| 2. Tata Altroz | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| 3. Tata Nexon | 5 stars | 3 stars |
| 4. Mahindra Thar | 4 stars | 4 stars |
| 5. Volkswagen Polo | 4 stars | 3 stars |
| 6. Tata Tiago/Tigor | 4 stars | 3 stars |
| 7. Mahindra Marazzo | 4 stars | 2 stars |
| 8. Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza | 4 stars | 2 stars |
| 9. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga | 3 stars | 3 stars |
| 10. Ford Aspire | 3 stars | 2 stars |
9. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga
The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga received 3 stars each in both the adult occupant and child occupant protection in the Global NCAP crash test. Just like the Vitara Brezza, the Ertiga also gets two airbags, ABS with EBD, a driver’s side seat-belt reminder and ISOFIX child-seat mounts as standard.
10. Ford Aspire
The only Ford car on this list is the Aspire, which was tested by Global NCAP back in 2017. The sub-4m sedan received a 3-star rating in adult occupant protection and 2 stars in child occupant protection in the test. It should be noted that the bodyshell of the sedan was rated as unstable.