[ron178]

Global NCAP has published a new set of crash test ratings for the Honda Amaze, Mahindra Bolero Neo and two versions of the Kia Carens.

The Mahindra Bolero Neo scored 1 star for its poor crashworthiness performance.

The Honda Amaze scored 2 stars because of the lack of ESC and curtain airbags, despite having strong performance in the front and side impact tests. Poor dynamics of child occupants resulted in zero stars for child occupant protection.

The Kia Carens was twice retested by Global NCAP. In the first test, the structure was improved over the 2022 version but shearing forces in the driver’s neck indicated an unacceptably high risk of serious injury. This version was awarded zero stars. (4 for child occupants)

Versions produced after 11 December 2023 qualify for 3 stars because of improved restraint systems, although neck forces are still higher than the original 2022 test. Pedal intrusion did not improve in either version. (5 stars for child occupants)



Test videos:

https://youtu.be/IwIPS_3h0KU?si=bmJckjQO__fzEJrD

https://youtu.be/17ofOJHiHws?si=L3CL3L5eaJL_-8qA

https://youtu.be/R3S2GYDaxL8?si=tITu38Mx_XIud_Va

https://youtu.be/wiyT8LBdQ5Q?si=Qd9WcevhIptlIn8Q

Reports:
Bolero Neo — 2 Airbags
Amaze — 2 Airbags
Carens — 6 Airbags (until 11 Dec 2023)
Carens — 6 Airbags (after 11 Dec 2023)

Note: the report incorrectly says the Honda Amaze has a driver-only seatbelt reminder however this is only true of the African version, whose frontal impact results were used. This does not affect its rating as it fails a number of other prerequisites for 3+ stars.

Wonder what happened to this where they said they would award 0 points to any car with side-facing seats. Surprised how late the Bolero Neo has been rated. It was tested in May 2022! (test code OD1822MBO1=18th week of 2022)

[DCEite]

Feel sad as a car buyer in India.

Everyone has been so vocal about Maruti's like Spresso/Ignis/Swift et al scoring badly in the new GNCAP norms, but the same wasn't expected from Amaze/Carens/Bolero.

Again, part of the reason is lack of 6 Airbags on the Amaze/Bolero , but KIA has no excuses.

Now I am apprehensive of what the new Creta will score in the GNCAP, even with 6 airbags and "reinforced" structure.

EDIT: Pre-December 2023 Kia Carens is as safe (or unsafe) as small Maruti's (even worse actually) !

[saikishor]

We bought an Amaze only because a previous NCAP test said it scored 4 stars. That was tested for an other market, but I assume the car is more or less same to that sold in India. After these tests, I feel GNCAP ratings should be taken with a bucket load of salt. The Amaze has a stable bodyshell meaning it can withstand further loadings,but still received a lower score than the Kia. Guess this is only because of the absence of active safety features.

I am curious as to what BNCAP is doing. Why was it even founded in the first place.

Also, it was a stupid move to postpone the mandatory 6 airbag rule. God bless Maruti Suzuki.

Bolero Neo was pretty much expected, no surprises there.

Edit: Is the Amaze an India spec version? The alloys on the car are from the older version, and the base E Amaze gets steel wheels.

[d3mon]

The results for Amaze for frontal Adult protection seem quite good at first glance. Need ron178 to explain the reason for star capping.

Amaze got 27.85 out of 34 for adult protection (with stable bodyshell)
Verna (5 stars) got 28.18 out of 34 for adult protection (with unstable bodyshell)

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...sheet-2023.pdf

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...sheet-2024.pdf

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by ron178

The Kia Carens was twice retested by Global NCAP. In the first test, the structure was improved over the 2022 version but shearing forces in the driver’s neck indicated an unacceptably high risk of serious injury. This version was awarded zero stars. (4 for child occupants)

Versions produced after 11 December 2023 qualify for 3 stars because of improved restraint systems, although neck forces are still higher than the original 2022 test. Pedal intrusion did not improve in either version. (5 stars for child occupants)

Have to give it to Kia for consistently bad Engineering and manufacturing. Three times tested and still manages only 3*** . Will it be the end or will there be any further retesting in BNCAP?

2022 rating


2024 0*


2024 3*


How did it go from 3* to 0* and back to 3*. Something is not adding up. Was some critical members removed from already poorly engineered car to get only 0* or was the test criteria changed? Caveat emptor on the cutoff VIN # to watch out 0* car if anyone is planning to buy preworshipped Carens.

[CentreOfGravity]

Wow. These are some disappointing results.

Why the hell is Mahindra even continuing with the dated, rebranded TUV300? At this point they have already come to realise that renaming the TUV300 to the Bolero Neo won't recreate the sales magic of the Bolero. Moreover, while it's understandable that the Bolero is still on sale thanks to demand, I feel the Neo should be phased out because neither is it helping Mahindra with sales nor with brand image. It just doesn't fit in a portfolio where the modern XUV700, ScorpioN and Thar exist!

The Amaze scored 2 stars this time around, but do note – the body shell was rated stable in the May 2019 test and I'm sure that it applies for the facelift too (Given that Honda only changes the makeup for facelifts and hardly touches anything else).

Originally Posted by saikishor

Is the Amaze an India spec version? The alloys on the car are from the older version, and the base E Amaze gets steel wheels.

I too wondered why the pre facelift Amaze was used in the offset barrier test. On casually checking the older crash test video, I found that the exact same footage of the previous video was used in the new one! I wonder why GNCAP would do that .
The old video for reference:

https://youtu.be/xzj2Bsv0dio?si=zVA6JyAuQ4MBVkEt

I don't have anything to say about the Carens, though I didn't understand why they tested the Carens two times consecutively (leaving the 2022 test apart). Would be great if someone could shed more light on that.

Eagerly awaiting new Maruti and Hyundai cars' crash test results. Let's see if the tables turn

[MotorDev]

Now, I'm starting to lose trust in GNCAP results .

- The Bolero Neo, which deformed extremely badly, received 1 star in adult occupation, while the Carens, tested before the retest, received 0 for adult occupation, even though it had more protection to offer than the Bolero Neo!

- The Amaze scored 27.85 out of 34 with a stable body shell, yet only received 2 stars, while the Verna, with a similar score but an unstable body shell, ended up scoring 5 !

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by CentreOfGravity

---
I don't have anything to say about the Carens, though I didn't understand why they tested the Carens two times consecutively (leaving the 2022 test apart). Would be great if someone could shed more light on that.

---

The curious case of two Kia Carens in GNCAP tests:


Kia Carens made between May 2023 and December 2023 received zero stars- The structure was improved but the test showed high neck values for the driver, resulting in zero stars for adult occupant protection. That triggered an immediate reaction from Kia to improve the neck performance, improving the restraint systems.
Kia improves restraint systems, which sees Carens get 3-star rating

Carens receives 5-star rating for child occupancy protection

it was noted that protection offered to the driver’s neck was poor, while protection for the driver’s chest, and driver’s and passenger’s knees was marginal. This resulted in the zero-star rating for the MPV for adult occupancy protection (AOP) for Carens made between May 2, 2023 and December 11, 2023.

Global NCAP’s release notes that this “triggered an immediate reaction from Kia to improve the neck performance, improving the restraint systems”. The road safety organisation noted that Carens made after December 11, 2023 showed a marked improvement in AOP, which resulted in the three-star rating and a score of 22.07 (out of a max of 34). However, Global NCAP also mentioned that it was “not the performance that Global NCAP expected as the Carens offers six airbags as standard.

In both tests, the bodyshell integrity in the frontal impacts was considered unstable and not capable of withstanding further loadings. In addition, the road safety organisation said that no side pole impact test was conducted due to the 3-star rating, and that seatbelt reminders for the first and second row are standard, but “only fulfils the requirements for the front row”.

The Carens’ child occupancy protection (COP) score also improved between the first and second round of crash tests. In the first round, the MPV was given a 4-star rating, with a score of 40.92 out of 49, but then its performance in the second round – with the improved restraint system – saw protection for the three-year old dummy improve. The Carens scored a total of 41/49, earning it a 5-star COP rating.

Source: GNCAP

[ron178]

Originally Posted by MotorDev

- The Bolero Neo, which deformed extremely badly, received 1 star in adult occupation, while the Carens, tested before the retest, received 0 for adult occupation, even though it had more protection to offer than the Bolero Neo!

Notice the driver’s neck in the Carens. Unacceptably high risk of serious/severe/critical injury to an important body part (head, neck or chest) means zero stars regardless of anything else.

Originally Posted by MotorDev

The Amaze scored 27.85 out of 34 with a stable body shell, yet only received 2 stars, while the Verna, with a similar score but an unstable body shell, ended up scoring 5 !

The Amaze’s score is good for five stars and it performed extremely well in the two crash tests. But it is very far behind on the rest, like ESC or curtain airbags required for 3 stars.

Honda themselves have confirmed in a statement (and for all practical purposes confirmed a new Amaze — thanks GNCAP for that, I guess)

Originally Posted by SuperGirl_Dad

How did it go from 3* to 0* and back to 3*. Something is not adding up. Was some critical members removed from already poorly engineered car to get only 0* or was the test criteria changed? Caveat emptor on the cutoff VIN # to watch out 0* car if anyone is planning to buy preworshipped Carens.

The second Carens would have been a 0 even against the older protocols, and heck, even the latest one would actually be a 2 (it has been saved by its side impact now). When the structure improved, the restraint system performance got much worse.

I can’t recall seeing neck loads as bad as that since the 2020 S-Presso’s front passenger without the airbag. Even the 3-star version is still ‘weak’, only barely making the cut for not being capped to 0. This isn’t even cost-cutting, it’s straight-up bad engineering.

Originally Posted by MotorDev

To be honest, I don't really see any major difference between the two tests of the Carens. The strain on the neck part looks exactly the same. GNCAP itself stated that there is barely any difference (neck), and you have mentioned it in your own post.

The limit at which it is ‘red’ is called a capping limit, beyond which even one body part can make the total score and star rating 0. The moment it crosses over from red to brown, even though it’s a very small improvement, there is a big jump in the overall rating as other body parts and tests are now allowed to score.

[MotorDev]

Originally Posted by ron178

Notice the driver’s neck in the Carens. An unacceptably high risk of serious/severe/critical injury to an important body part (head, neck or chest) means zero stars regardless of anything else. This isn’t even cost-cutting, it’s straight-up bad engineering.

To be honest, I don't really see any major difference between the two tests of the Carens. The strain on the neck part looks exactly the same. GNCAP itself stated that there is barely any difference (neck), and you have mentioned it in your post too.

[ergon_9700]

Actually I am confused on why Amaze was tested recently and results declared now especially considering it is due for a model change in the form of next generation update. Also with certain standard feature additions like 3 point seatbelt for all passengers would have improved it's score to 3 stars. Strange thing is that a new gen is also coming. Why now? At least, for Jazz and Gen 4 City they were on sale for 2 more years, they were discontinued on RDE norms coming into effect.

Disappointed with Kia though. No change in Star rating even though this is a stricter protocol. Under the old one it would have scored 4 stars. So what does this say for Seltos, Creta and Alcazar as they are built in same platform?

Well for Mahindra the platform is a Legacy one but still considering they have a strong portfolio they should have given some improvement to it.

Well personally, now I have kind of become skeptical of GNCAP thanks to timing of the Amaze test. I did not take it as Gospel earlier but skepticism has increased significantly.

[Venkatesh]

There has been an improvement in Kia’s rating for the Carens since our original test when the model scored a zero rating for adult occupant protection. However we were expecting a better performance in the retest given the Carens is fitted with six airbags as standard.

[Venkatesh]

Here’s the Honda Cars India official statement responding to the Amaze's showing in the latest Global NCAP crash tests.

[Bhodrolok]

So the amaze looks fine, the score mainly due to missing basic safety technology.

The Carens is the only Kia which has not gone through a recent face-lift so we can hope for some improvments in near future. Will be interesting to see the scores of the face-lifted Seltos and Creta which were "re-inforced".

Bolero-Neo is not surprising but Mahindra should try to get an uniform safety score like VAG and Tata.

[m8002?]

Which platform is Carens based on? Creta or Verna?

If Creta/Seltos/Carens share the platform, it could be the reason for Hyundai not doing the BNCAP crash test.