Verna to Virtus: India's top 10 safest cars list now has three sedans

As Hyundai puts increased focus on safety aspects in its vehicles, Verna has become only the third sedan from India, and the first car from the Korean auto giant, to score five-star rating at the Global NCAP crash tests. Earlier this week, Hyundai Verna secured the perfect five score in both adult and child protection tests conducted by the global agency. Verna's performance at the crash test has shaken up the list of safest cars manufactured in India. A list that was once led by SUVs, is now dominated by sedans. Here is a quick look at India's top 10 safest cars based on Global NCAP ratings.

Volkswagen Virtus

The compact sedan from the German auto giant was among the first two sedans to secure perfect five-star rating at the Global NCAP. Along with its technical cousin Skoda Slavia, Virtus sailed through the crash tests with the highest possible five-star rating in both adult and child occupant protection tests. Virtus scored 29.71 out of 34 points in Adult occupant protection test and 42 out of 49 points in Child occupant protection test.

Skoda Slavia

Slavia is Skoda's flagship model which replaced the older Rapid sedan in 2022. The safety features and a solid bodyshell helped the sedan to notch up highest safety rating at the Global NCAP. Slavia scored similar points as the Virtus. Both sedans were also tested for pedestrian safety measures too.

Hyundai Verna

The new generation Verna compact sedan, launched earlier this year, comes heavily equipped in terms of features. These include six airbags and electronic stability control (ESC) as standard besides others like ABS with EBD, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), Hill-start assist, disc brakes on all four wheels and front parking sensors. The Global NCAP crash test revealed that the Verna has unstable bodyshell. However, both in adult and child protection as well as side impact tests, the sedan passed with flying colours. The Verna scored 28.18 points out of 34 for adult occupant protection, and 42 points out of 49 for child occupant protection.

Watch - Hyundai Verna 2023: First Drive Review

Volkswagen Taigun

Two of the safest SUVs in India also come from the Volkswagen Group. The Taigun SUV passed the Global NCAP crash tests with a perfect 5 last year. The SUV secured five-star safety rating in both adult and child occupant protection measures, a first for any cars from India. With an overall safety score of 71.64 points, the Taigun is the safest car in India.

Skoda Kushaq

Kushaq SUV, technical cousing to Volkswagen Taigun, returned with similar safety rating at the Global NCAP crash tests. Built on a shared platform and offered with similar safety features, the Kushaq also scored five-star safety rating in both adult and child occupant protection programme.

Mahindra XUV700

Mahindra's flagship XUV700 SUV was earlier its safest car on offer. The XUV700 had also secured five-star rating with top honours in the adult occupant protection programme and four-star rating child occupant protection. However, with an overall safety score of 57.69 points, it now sits slightly lower than the Scorpio-N.

Tata Punch

The safest car from another Indian carmaker Tata Motors is the smallest SUV that any company offers in the country. The Punch surprised a few by securing overall five-star rating at the Global NCAP. The safety ratings were similar to the XUV700 when it came to adult or child occupant protection programme. However, the overall safety score of Punch is 57.34 points.

Mahindra XUV300

The third Mahindra SUV to score overall five-star safety rating at Global NCAP is the sub-compact XUV300. It was among the first models from the carmaker to have secured highest safety rating at the crash tests. It scored five stars in adult occupant protection while child occupant protection rating was at four stars. The overall safety score of the XUV300 was 53.86 points.

Mahindra Scorpio-N

Mahindra's flagship Scorpio-N SUV is ninth on the list after received five-star rating at Global NCAP. It scored 58.18 points at the crash tests in which the SUV secured five-star rating in adult occupant protection, but scored only three-star in child occupant protection.

Tata Altroz

Altroz is the only hatchback on this list of safest cars with highest safety ratings. It is also the only hatchback from India to have secured overall five-star rating at Global NCAP. While it sailed through the adult occupant protection test, the Altroz scored only three-star in child occupant protection test. The hatchback secured overall safety score of 45.13 points.

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