In case you didn’t know, Global NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) recently shifted to a more stringent regime to crash-test cars. Among other aspects, the new procedure rates cars on how they perform in frontal and side impacts and whether they have ESC (Electronic Stability Control). And the first set of results has just surfaced, with the Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq as the test subjects.
Global NCAP has awarded the siblings five-star safety ratings for both child and adult occupants. Out of the possible 34, the SUVs bagged 29.64 points for adults and 42 on a 49-point scale for children. Here, you can see only the Taigun being put through the crash tests. That’s because the Skoda Kushaq has the same platform, is built on the same production line and packs the same basic safety kit.
The specimens that Global NCAP used for testing were in their most basic safety specification. Even so, the SUV has features such as dual airbags, seatbelt pretensioners with loadlimiters, seatbelt reminder for front passengers, ISOFIX anchorages for child booster seats and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).
The final report reveals that the Taigun and Kushaq provided between marginal and good protection to adult passengers (covering both frontal and side impacts) and full protection to child occupants in both frontal- and side-impact scenarios. For the record, the frontal and side-impact crashes are performed using a deformable barrier, whereas the latter also includes pushing the car into a pole. Global NCAP also rated the bodyshell integrity as stable.
It’s great to see how Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. (SAVWIPL) has put occupant safety at the core of their locally-developed models. And let’s not forget that as you go up the trim tree, the safety blanket becomes thicker with stuff like a tyre pressure monitoring system, a rearview camera and six airbags. Perhaps, carmakers that sell millions of cars every year in India but are recipients of sub-par crash-test reports for their models would learn something from this development.
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