Maruti Alto K10: Just Two Stars in Global NCAP Crash Test - Is It Safe Enough for You?

On Tuesday, the Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) unveiled the results of its first round of crash tests for 2023 in India. The testing platform included more rigorous requirements to assess vehicle safety. The tests evaluated frontal and side impact protection, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection, and side impact pole protection for all the models tested.

Maruti Suzuki's Alto K10 and WagonR models did not perform well in the tests. The Alto K10 received a rating of just two stars for adult occupant protection and zero stars for child occupant protection. Meanwhile, the WagonR scored even lower, with just one star in adult occupant protection and zero stars for child occupant protection.

Vehicles that received the highest star ratings also underwent side impact pole protection assessments. Overall, the updated protocols used in the testing process aimed to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of vehicle safety.

The Alto K10 vehicle was found to provide good protection for the driver's head and neck during crash tests. However, the tests revealed only marginal protection for the driver's chest. Additionally, the tests highlighted that the driver's knees and passenger's knees offered only marginal and weak protection, respectively. This is because they could come into contact with dangerous structures located behind the fascia during an accident.

In terms of tibia protection, the tests showed that the driver's tibias offered marginal protection, while the passengers' tibias were adequately protected. Moving on to the side impact test results, the tests showed that the Alto K10 provided good protection for the head and pelvis of occupants. 

However, the protection for the abdomen was only found to be adequate, while the chest protection was weak. Overall, these results indicate that there is room for improvement in terms of the safety of the Alto K10 vehicle.

The hatchback vehicle being discussed lacks side airbags and does not feature Electronic Stability Control (ESC). This is concerning given that six airbags are set to become a mandatory requirement for new models sold in India. 

Furthermore, it is worrying that Maruti Suzuki does not even offer this feature as a customer option. Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP, expressed this concern, stating that it is particularly troubling that such a large and prominent car manufacturer does not offer adequate safety features.

In light of the upcoming launch of Bharat NCAP, which is a program aimed at improving vehicle safety in India, Furas challenged Maruti Suzuki to catch up with other leading domestic manufacturers. The implication here is that Maruti Suzuki needs to step up its game and improve the safety features offered in its vehicles to meet the standards expected by the Bharat NCAP program and customers alike.

The vehicle being discussed lacks several standard safety features, including AEB Pedestrian, AEB City, AEB Inter-Urban, Speed Assist System, and Lane Assist system. Furthermore, it does not have child protection equipment like ISOFIX, Integrated CRS, and Airbag cut-off switches. In addition to these omissions, the vehicle-based assessment gave it zero points because it does not have three-point belts in all seating positions.

On the other hand, the Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia models achieved a five-star rating in both adult and child occupant protection in the same round of testing. This is a significant contrast to the poor results of the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 and WagonR, which only received one or two stars and lacked essential safety features.