[Hayek]

Voted No, but that is based on a certain interpretation of the question - viz would I buy an unrated or poorly rated car for city use.

Agree with @GTO that we use Olas and Ubers (or at least used them before the pandemic) and did not refuse a car based on its safety rating (though I did give 1 star ratings if seat belts were non usable). Why, I even use Kaali-Peeli cabs on occasion! But when it comes to buying a car, the safety rating does matter, even if it is predominantly for urban use. While crashes are less common in urban use, we have all seen multiple car pile ups on urban flyovers, and even in Bombay city, there are plenty of roads on which you drive at 80 kph.

A 3 star rating for the Seltos was a negative in my evaluation of the car (though not a disqualifier). A 2 star or lower rating would be a disqualifier. I would consider unrated CKD cars (assuming they are the same as vehicles sold elsewhere), but would hesitate to buy a new locally manufactured car - especially from manufacturers who have demonstrated willingness to remove safety equipment to boost profits.

However, I do agree that I would consider any car with all passengers wearing seat-belts as much safer than any two wheeler (which is one reason why I never learnt to ride a motorbike and to the extent I can help it, will not let my son use a motorbike either). And any car is safer than an auto rickshaw. So I don’t blame a manufacturer which makes full disclosure of the lack of safety equipment in its entry level (₹2.5 lakh) cars. But the “it is better than a scooter” argument does not work for any other segment - so there is no logical reason for cars costing anything more than ₹5 lakhs not meeting all required safety standards (in my view, at the minimum a stable body structure, proper crumple zones, 6 air bags - to give at least a 4 star GNCAP rating.)

Of course, we have all bought cars that did not meet this requirement in the past - but that should not guide our decision making in 2021.

[SPARKled]

In my opinion the 'yes' for this survey is the exact reason why Maruti and others keep milking Indians into buying cheaper dangerous cars and are continuing to bring in unsafe cars for consumption as they continue to be block buster sellers.

People in India just cant believe that in fact that they too can someday get into a tragic situation that could have easily been avoided had they only bought a safer car without worrying about cost and fuel efficiency.

It takes just one accident and god forbid it could be just too late for 'oh if only I had a safer car'

I personally find the justification of 'it is atleast safer than a 2 wheeler'
ridiculous.

So a strong No for me.

[SN88]

Voted Yes, if use is purely in city ONLY. We have an I10 Auto ( 8 years , 30k kms) among the other's which is used for the market and corner / salon/ kids classes runs. I am sure it has never touched even 60 kph in over 3-4 years , probably never seen the 4th gear as well

For such use, i dont think an unrated car / poor rated car would be a consideration.

[abhatt]

Voted Yes.

I have a VW Polo 1.2 (2013). I recently met with an accident where a biker at 80+kmph banged into my car which resulted in Airbags getting deployed.

I had purchased Highline at that time in 2013, so that I could get airbags. Now the option was to either go for a total loss or go for a repair without the airbags (which cost 1.7l in VW Polo).

Considering Covid, I feel the need for the second car and hence I decided to keep this without airbags and use it strictly within the city.

My new car will be for the highways and occasional city drives whereas my Polo will be for the Bangalore roads where you rarely drive at dangerous speeds. The build structure of Polo is good enough to survive a mid-impact accident I believe.

3 years more before I jump into the electric world where I would spend again to get a safer car.

[Avinash97]

If that 0-star car is a death-trap, IMHO, that motorcycle is a moving coffin!

Totally agree

[Sri Vathsa]

Voted No. When you can afford safe + reliable car at entry level (tiago) why settle for anything less? Most Indian's have 1 car for family, why not pick a safe car?

[prasanna.vps]

I voted NO, few years ago I was not bothered. But as I become older, I find myself becoming more conscious and making myself aware of safety. A car riding at 20 KPH in city or 200 KPH in highway have an equal chance of being swiped or rear ended by a heavier vehicle, so in no way driving in city is an excuse to knowingly have an unsafe car, even as a cab.

However, the primary reasons for using vehicles in typical India are
1. To reach from point A to point B, carrying in all of the family and more
2. As a status symbol when going to events, parties and family functions
3. As a showcase that I have money
4. In most SUV users case, to show that they belong to some party, organization or community, ultimately thinking they ooze power
5. To have mobility when needed

In none of these cases, safety is a consideration. Recent marketing and campaigning not withstanding, an NCAP rating is only treated as a "nice" to have in most cases. Our largest manufacturer is the classic example where in none of the cars are NCAP rated, yet selling vehicles by truck loads. No government intervention can help. Hope the larger population demands this as a hygiene and vehicle makers+authorities are forced to not cut corners here.

[ron178]

While I'm not normally the kind of person to forgo safety ratings, I do understand the dilemma of car buyers in the lower segments, who have next to no options of cars with good safety ratings. Where I live, there is a significant portion of highway to be crossed before getting to the city. However, for those who live in the city, it may be required to prioritise other features over a good crash test rating (say, an automatic gearbox). Keep in mind that all cars sold in India currently have passed government crash tests, which, I'd dare say, aren't as bad as people make them out to be.

That said, I would advise people to pick the safest car they can afford that meets other requirements. For example, let's say I absolutely needed an automatic gearbox, I'd pick a 2 star NCAP rated car with an automatic over a 4-star rated manual assuming there is no better rated automatic car at the price point. However, if I had to up my budget, I'd pick a lower (automatic) variant of the 4-star rated car than a higher variant of the 2-star rated car if other features aren't a priority.

Frankly, the best way to avoid this dilemma is buying pre-owned.

[Chillout]

Voted No, lame topic in my opinion, we talk about high standards for content and safety, this topic shouldn't even be considered for discussion. In today's day and age , road rage is increasingly becoming common in cities and see lot many accidents happening. It's always better to have a safe car irrespective of wether you are using it in City or Highways. If we apply the same logic for this discussion, we can expect next topic to be, do we need helmet in city o not.

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by Sri Vathsa

When you can afford safe + reliable car at entry level (tiago) why settle for anything less? Most Indian's have 1 car for family, why not pick a safe car?

Because we cannot afford it.

3.6L (Alto) Vs 6L INR (Tiago) - that is a big gap, eventually Maruti itself has to fill it albeit with safer vehicles as market demands. Tata had their chance to move people from 2 wheels to 4, but they blew it, as usual the old guard from 1985 had to continue doing what it does best - making affordable cars for India.

The average selling price of the biggest car market in India - the used car market is ~3L, around the price of a brand new Alto.

[chaudh2s]

To answer this question, I'd say I will keep into consideration the test ratings, but will not make that an agenda for targeting some particular model, manufacturer, mud slinging or driving an agenda. I feel there are a lot of fanboys around here.
When one buys an NCAP 5 car or drive defensively, he/she merely increases the probability of not getting hurt/killed in an incident, but by what percent, nobody knows. Because, the overriding probability of bad luck/bad day is absolute, so to say. Life is a risk at every stage, we just try to minimize our risks, there are no absolute, quantifiable numbers, that if you drive Euro 5 you will survive 60% of times and if you drive Euro 1 you will survive 5% of times. So, pray to God often, don't hurt others, drive defensively, select a mode of travel as safe as you can afford or fit for purpose, and live/drive on. A Euro 5 (or 6, 7,...) car in the hands of an unsafe driver or a person whose time has come (read bad luck), will not survive any which way.

[Ranjith812]

Voted for NO.

If a safer rated car is available in your budget, better to go for that even for city drive on Indian roads, considering the fact that the country is among the top ones with the high rate of casualties and severe injuries due to road accidents.

Of course, regardless of what you drive how you drive is the most important safety factor!!

[silverado]

Originally Posted by Marshall

Unsafe cars have no purpose to be on the road. If its a compromise, then why bother with any, Kuch bhi chalega must not be acceptable any more. The attitude must change. Incompetency must be weeded out.

Sounds great, if thats the case one should also not sit in a Wagon R Uber/Ola as well.

I have voted "YES" since i practically do it with Nano. And however unsafe it is, its unbeatable when it comes to City driving, finding parking etc. It does not attract unwanted attention and is easy to get in and out.

Not everyone can buy cars which are safe, so if i cant afford a better and safer car, i will surely go for an unsafe one rather than travelling by two wheeler or an auto rickshaw.

[PrasannaDhana]

Yes. I currently have a Kwid and a Celerio doing city runs for the family.

At times, they also see a fair bit of the highways.

Beyond everything, the best safety feature is a sane driver.

This, coming from a guy who survived a motorcycle accident at speeds that can't be mentioned in this forum. A 0 star car is still safer than a motorcycle, irrespective of the quality of riding gear you wear.

As a family, we have owned over 20 cars (almost all 0 stars as they were from 90s and 2000s) in the last 20 years, clocking almost a million+ km, without a single accident.

Let's not pretend to be elitist by condemning others who buy unsafe cars.

1. Not everyone has the awareness
2. Not everyone is rich enough to spend 7+ lakhs on a safe car
3. Not everyone is patient enough to deal Tata/VW/Mahindra dealerships
4. Not everyone is comfortable getting an used car.

[911CarerraS]

The problem is the lack of options and tight budget.
Obviously everyone wants a safe car but due to budget constraints it's not easy for buyers to Jump to a higher segment just for safety. It's about time that GOI brings it own mandatory NCAP for cars.