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Originally Posted by CarNerd How can they award it 5 stars when side airbags didn't deploy and the head has banged into the B-Pillar? |
This is a UNECE Regulation 95 side impact test. It is not scored but is rather a pass/fail test, and a pass on it is required for 5 Global NCAP stars for adult occupant protection. But, nevertheless, it's possible to score very well for head protection in side impact (even when there are upper performance limits) without side head protection airbags. The MDB side impact usually causes chest and lower body injuries. Cars without side head airbags have recorded low Head Injury Criterion values in past tests, even in other NCAPs. For example,
this Mazda 2 hatch tested for Latin America.
You have to remember that Global NCAP or the test engineers have no say in the injury measures, the accelerometers in the HIII dummy heads do. You can't say that Global NCAP shouldn't give it a pass just because the head hit a surface. If the HIC36 value was less than 1000, it was less than 1000 and nothing can change that. Unlike consumer-information side impact tests this test has no modifiers either, though even in the consumer tests there exists no such modifier for the head hitting a surface.
Maybe the IIHS (in the USA) does because they pay a lot of attention to dummy movements.
The better test for assessing side head protection is the lateral or oblique pole test (which a manufacturer is not even allowed to
sponsor in the first place in most NCAPs if side head protection is absent) which Global NCAP will, thankfully, introduce next year.
You can find the test protocol and pass/fail criteria for the current R95 side impact test
here.
As for the comparison with Euro NCAP - yes, it's far more up to date but you have to remember that NCAPs proceed in a phased manner with gradually evolving protocols. I do agree that Global NCAP is very slow (the first major update to their protocols is in 2022) but you have to remember that they are funded by philanthropies and Safer Cars for India is just an intermediate till a Bharat NCAP is set up, whenever that is. I think the best we can do right now is be thankful that we have at least
some means of consumer information. When Maruti Suzuki says Global NCAP is a third party, they aren't joking. We still don't have a government-funded NCAP in India.
It would simply be impractical to suddenly impose Euro NCAP protocol on Indian cars because it would dramatically drive up the price of cars and would, more likely than not, cause rebellion from most manufacturers rather than compliance. That said, I do agree that Global NCAP's assessment protocol is getting a little
too old now and thankfully it will get some significant updates next year bringing it
approximately in line with late 2000s - Euro NCAP protocol (there are many differences, though, for the better).
Is it the best NCAP? No, far from it.
Is it better than nothing? I think so.
Should we settle for 'better than nothing'? Well, definitely not, but we don't have an option and neither does Global NCAP. With the funds they get they might not even be able to complete the assessment of one car to Euro NCAP protocol every year - and even then it would likely be a very poor rating. (in this I'm assuming they somehow managed to add an ESC test since Euro NCAP hasn't been conducting it since the EU's mandate for standard-fit GTR8 compliant ESC)
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Originally Posted by fhdowntheline I am a bit curious about the side impact test. I thought that the XUV 7OO tilted over quite dangerously on impact. I dont know why they didnt show it moving across sideways like they do for other side-impact tests. |
There is no modifier for the car tipping over during side impact. Many cars have tipped over in MDB side impacts in the past, including but not limited to the Lynk&Co 01 recently tested by Euro NCAP, which - get this - scored a full 16.0 for side impact (a rare thing, especially with all their new far side impact testing). Granted, the mobile barrier used was different (heavier and more car-like) and the test speed was higher, but the principle still holds. It's a very common occurrence in SUVs.
This comment from Latin NCAP on the LHD Volkswagen T-Cross' test video might be of interest (it tipped over during side impact, and I'm wondering whether we should expect the Škoda Kushaq to do the same since the test configuration is identical)
Quote:
Translated by Google
@latinNCAP, in the side collision did the car overturn or not? If yes, what is the impact on the evaluation? Waiting for an answer.
Yes, in the same way that many SUVs fall in this type of test. This is normal considering the low impact point and high center of gravity. Plus wound assessments showed no risk measurements. If the car is toppled, this does not affect the test. The evaluation of the side impact is more critical for the magnitude than the tipping that occurs at low speed in this case. In cars with side curtain airbags it is normal for the airbags on the underside to be deployed if the overturned is high speed or hazardous.
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Coming to the topic, I'm thrilled, but not surprised at this news. I guess this is somewhat a first for Mahindra since we can't even really call this one a rebadged Ssangyong. Mahindra knows the importance of a high NCAP rating now and I'm sure there's no going back for them now. They also seem to already be taking the 2022 assessment protocol seriously if my observations are sound.
I will not be surprised to see a Safer Choice Award for the XUV700 very soon, given its optional ESC. It has met the requisite star ratings for adult and child occupant protection.
On another note, while 4 stars for child occupant protection is still a very good rating, I can't help but be slightly disappointed that we still haven't had a five star child occupant protection rating. I'm waiting for the first true 'full five star' Global NCAP rating and I look forward to see which manufacturer it will be, if at all.
I'm also delighted that Mahindra has chosen to recommend a rearward-facing CRS for even the Group I child, following closely on *Toyota and *Honda's (and recently Tata's) heels.
About the petrol-powered car's
rumoured intrusion issue, I had requested someone at Global NCAP to include the fuel type of the tested car in the technical report (for all future tests), and he said he had passed it on (without confirming whether it would be introduced). Unfortunately, it looks like they haven't made the change after all. Can anyone who's been following the XUV700 closely determine which fuel type was tested?
Also, based on the test code (
43rd week of 2021 (Tata Nexon: Global NCAP’s first 5-Star Indian car)) it looks like the
tests Global NCAP was tweeting about (Tata Punch secures a full 5-star rating in the GNCAP) near the end of October were for the XUV700 and not the round of non-voluntary tests.
I'll also point out that this comes as a stark contrast to the 2020 round of tests whose results were released almost exactly a year ago (off by one day).
We've had nothing but good to great results in 2021, not surprisingly (since all the tests were sponsored by manufacturers), and I hope this year's round of non-voluntary tests doesn't disappoint either. I also have a feeling we might see more manufacturers making entries into the five star club very soon.
*internationally but not in India and South Africa