[ashutoshb]

Made in India Renault Kwid, for Indonesia fails ASEAN NCAP crash test, receives 0 star.

The version tested had a single air bag.

The Global NCAP Secretary-General says: “It’s very disturbing to see such a poor result for the Kwid. Renault have shown that they can make a much safer version in Latin America, so why not in South East Asia too? Different regions and double standards from Renault is deeply disappointing!”

First, it's the land's government which allows car makers to sell these tin coffins on wheels, so more blame goes to the people in power. But what about Renault's moral obligation? I lost my respect for them a long time ago and it appears its going to stay this way.

YouTube Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H7ee_jP8TA

Source / More details:
Website link
Detailed Report in PDF

[PrasunBannerjee]

Not surprised at all. But these unsafe cars still find many takers everyday due to the average Indian mindset of low sticker price, lower maintenance, and higher fuel economy. Got a chance to sit in a kwid sometime back, and third gen M800 was much sturdy in build in comparison. And not kwid alone, I recall I once lied on the roof of M800 in question (I weighted 70-ish kg back then). Some 6-7 years back I kept a heavy hand (did not lie) on a then-recently-purchased Alto's roof of a friend, and a huuuge dimple/crater emerged. Was hardly 75kg then. That raised a big red flag for me ever since.

Coming back to the topic, I really wish Indian public becomes more aware here or government should impose some serious mandates for build and safety norms instead of pushing bikes and scooters with headlamps on during the day.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I am really sad about this little car!

When I first saw it quite a while ago, I was so impressed that a car of this size could seem to be so good. Then I found out, here, about the safety aspects. And this was, I think, an early or even original, in-India model.

I suppose the answer is that they are building down to a price that people are willing to pay in this country for this segment. Due to lack of awareness or safety priority among buyers, they could be right. But how long should the government go on permitting the attitude that an unsafe car is better than no car? No end to that in sight any time soon :(

[aravind.anand]

While I am certainly not playing the devil's advocate by supporting the tin-can-build of the Indian Renault Kwid, I somehow feel there is a lot of bias in the way media keeps taking a dig at the poor crash-worthiness of the Kwid, while conveniently ignoring that its arch rival the Alto 800 which sells 4-times more has a similarly poor build too.

And talking about double standards for different regions, the Government has to share the blame along with the manufacturers. And every car maker plays this card, right from the export versions of Alto, Swift, Baleno to cars costing multiple millions like even the Ford Endeavour (link to article here- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...l-version.html )

So while Renault India is not innocent, others cannot scot-free either.

[Urban_Nomad]

Why blame the Govt. and manufacturers for everything? if people refuse to put their families in these tin cans from Renault and other leading manufacturers, they will HAVE to give better / safer cars or they cant keep the lights on in their factories

We ourselves don't care, why should they?

[mxh]

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

Why blame the Govt. and manufacturers for everything? if people refuse to put their families in these tin cans from Renault and other leading manufacturers, they will HAVE to give better / safer cars or they cant keep the lights on in their factories

We ourselves don't care, why should they?

My view on this is that this situation is purely the government's fault and no one else's. Just like a baby doesn't know anything, general people are equally clueless don't know what is good for them. Experts on a concerned topic know and they are the ones who are supposed to lead, create laws, instructions and processes and punishments while the rest are supposed to follow. That's how things have worked since the beginning of time.

[anand.shankar]

Originally Posted by mxh

My view on this is that this situation is purely the government's fault and no one else's. Just like a baby doesn't know anything, general people are equally clueless don't know what is good for them. Experts on a concerned topic know and they are the ones who are supposed to lead, create laws, instructions and processes and punishments while the rest are supposed to follow. That's how things have worked since the beginning of time.

Completely disagree. I have multiple colleagues and relatives throwing safety and build quality right out the window and taking only Economy, low initial investment and running cost, and high resale value into consideration while buying a car. And these are well fed, fully grown, some even studied abroad humans. I know some of these folks telling other people that Airbags are a big on repair costs if deployed.

[mxh]

Originally Posted by anand.shankar

Completely disagree. I have multiple colleagues and relatives throwing safety and build quality right out the window and taking only Economy, low initial investment and running cost, and high resale value into consideration while buying a car. And these are well fed, fully grown, some even studied abroad humans. I know some of these folks telling other people that Airbags are a big on repair costs if deployed.

It seems that you have completely misunderstood my message. The point you are making is only reinforcing what i have specified.

[sainyamk95]

Yeah yeah yeah the Indian Kwid is pathetic in terms of safety; but what's with the rock music playing in the background of a car crash?! I mean there's poor, innocent crash test dummies dying in there

[landcruiser123]

I've been so hardened that I'm indifferent to this report. Call me ignorant, but that's the truth.

I don't know how safe the Ciaz which is in my garage is.

Except Toyota, I don't know how committed to safety other mass-market car manufacturers are.

Attaching two reports below for comparison. See the third page for 'maximum rating eligible:'



To all of you defending the government:

I think the onus is on the government to establish crash norms and educate customers. Consumer awareness is key.

Till the time the government decides to wake up, I urge you, the responsible BHPian to educate friends and family about unsafe cars.

That is how much you can do for now.

[MaxTorque]

Well, our car buyers are slowly realizing the importance of crashworthiness and other safety ratings. I think it is going to take some time to get these features are priority items while choosing their cars.

I think we should remove the "Made in India" reference. Because it is the company responsible for the product's safety features and the country has nothing to do with that.

[ashwin1224]

I really doubt you can get a car to cost under 5 lac and still have a respectable crash score. And the simple truth is that the majority of people do not want to pay more than that, either they are unwilling, or they just simply cannot afford to. If in such a scenario we expect the govt to enforce safety norms, it would obviously increase the base price of all cars in the lower segment, and that govt will forever be labelled as the govt which made it near impossible for the middle-class to buy a 4 wheeler. No govt would dare touch this issue.

On the other hand, what they Can enforce is a better policing on the streets, better licensing mechanism, a give sanctioned, expert approved curriculum for driver training before getting a licence. We don't absolutely need safer cars, but we need safer roads without a doubt.

[WasherNut0402]

Quantity over Quality:

Such cars portray the Indian car market. There is no use in having numbers at our side to make our market one of the biggest in the world. We need quality not quantity.

Sadly, the manufacturers who were providing quality cars once upon a time are resorting to reduce their quality because of the govt norms and road conditions. the people's mentality also is at question here. When a car like the alto 800 and Kwid is able to buy bread and butter for the manufacturers in the market, they will try to lure the customers. It is left to the public to decide if life or Money is important.

[gk1234]

I’m not sure if someone has already raised/answered this previously, so do accept my apologies if this is a settled query: is there a difference in the test procedures adopted by the different NCAP regimes, such as Euro and ASEAN? Can the same car get a different rating in crash tests conducted by the Euro NCAP as against the ASEAN or the US or the Australian versions of the test? If yes, then how do we reconcile with such differences in ratings? Do we automatically the lower rating to be the more accurate score?

[Thad E Ginathom]

We have talked about buyer ignorance, lack of government regulation, lack of interest and willingness to pay for safety, and all these things are major causes of unsafe vehicles on our roads which see many accidents.

It is true that companies have to build cars that can and do sell, but, to what extent do they encourage and profit by the situation in India?