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Earlier this year, we had reported that many popular hatchbacks sold in India had fared poorly in Global NCAP crash tests, scoring zero stars. It was only the Volkswagen Polo, equipped with a pair of front airbags that managed to score a respectable four stars.
The latest to join the ranks are the Datsun GO and Maruti Suzuki Swift. Neither of these cars could manage to score even one star in the crash tests. Both the cars were not equipped with airbags and Global NCAP's testing protocol mandates that all cars (including base variants) must carry at least airbags and ABS to get its certification.
The analysis for the Swift showed that the crash-test-dummies sustained near-fatal injuries in a 64 kph crash. The driver in particular fared very badly. The car's structural integrity has also been termed as unstable. The Swift exported to Latin America received a 3-Star rating. While this was due to the presence of airbags and ABS, the structural integrity of the car is similar to the Indian Swift. The European Swift however, has managed to score five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests as it has a much stronger structure.
In the case of the Datsun GO, the car's structure suffered severe disintegration with both the crash-test-dummies sustaining fatal injuries to the head, torso and legs.
Source: NDTV Auto