Nexon to Scorpio-N: India's safest SUVs with five-star safety rating
- Overall, as many as nine SUVs made in India have secured five-star safety ratings at Global NCAP and Bharat NCAP crash tests.
India currently boasts of a host SUVs that are considered the safest according to their safety ratings at various crash tests held over the past few years. Tata Nexon is the latest to undergo Global NCAP crash tests where it secured highest safety rating. There are nine such SUVs which, on paper, are the safest one can buy in India. The list of safest cars in India also include two sedans - the Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia - both of which secured five-star safety rating at the Global NCAP. Here is a look at all the nine SUVs that have scored five--star safety rating at crash tests held by either Global NCAP or Bharat NCAP.
Tata Nexon
Nexon is the only SUV on the list that has sailed through Global NCAP crash tests twice with five-star safety rating. After the 2018 tests, the newNexon SUV underwent crash tests recently, securing highest safety rating. The sub-compact SUV, that rivals the likes of Maruti Brezza, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet, scored 32.22 points out of 34 in adult protection and 44.52 points out of 49 in child protection. The SUV comes equipped with six airbags, an electronic stability program, ISOFIX mounts, rear parking sensors, tilt and collapsible steering, central locking and hill hold control. (Read full report)
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Tata Harrier
The new Harrier is the first SUV to undergo Bharat NCAP crash tests. It was launched last year with enhanced safety features which include six airbags as standard and can go up to seven airbags for top-end variants. It also offers ADAS technology to assist drivers besides other safety features. The Global NCAP rated Harrier's bodyshell integrity as stable. The SUV also met the requirements of UN127 and GTR9 for pedestrian protection as standard. In adult occupant protection, the SUV scored 33.05 out of 34 points and in child occupant protection, it scored 45 out of 49. The overall safety score of the SUV is 78.05 points.
Tata Safari
The new Safari, launched along with Harrier facelift, was also tested by Bharat NCAP recently. The SUV comes equipped with similar safety features. Expectedly, the SUV returned with similar points and safety ranking as Harrier. The three-row SUV, launched at ₹16.19 lakh (ex-showroom), offers other safety features such as ABS with EBD, ESP, tyre pressure monitoring system, cruise control, driver attention alert, hill descent control, emergency call and breakdown alert among others.
Tata Punch
Tata's smallest SUV is also on the list of safest SUVs in India. 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.
Volkswagen Taigun
The Taigun compact SUV from the German auto giant is also one of India's safest SUVs. It had scored the perfect 5 at the Global NCAP crash test last year 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 now the third safest SUV in India.
Skoda Kushaq
Kushaq compact SUV from Skoda, which is the technical cousin of the Volkswagen Taigun, returned with the 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 Scorpio-N
The Scorpio-N SUV, which is the new generation version of the flagship Scorpio SUV from Mahindra and Mahindra, is among the safest SUVs India currently has. It had scored 58.18 points at the Global NCAP crash tests in which the SUV secured five-star rating in adult occupant protection, but scored only three-star in child occupant protection. It is officially the safest SUV from the Indian carmaker.
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.
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.
