The Maruti Suzuki Swift has been tested by Global NCAP again, and this time it got a 1-star rating for both adult and child occupant safety. Along with the Ignis, S Presso, and Mahindra Scorpio N, the Maruti Swift was one of the second group of cars to be tested under Global NCAP’s stricter protocols, which went into effect in July.
- Swift got 19.19 out of 34 points for protecting adults.
- It got 16.68 out of 49 points for child safety.
- The Swift’s body shell was said to be weak.
The model we tested was made in India for the Indian market. It had dual front airbags, seat belt pretensioners, ISOFIX anchorages in the back, and reminders to put on your seat belt. The current-generation Swift was tested by GNCAP in 2018 before it got a new look, and it got 2 stars for both adult and child safety.
Notably, these ratings also apply to the Dzire compact sedan because it is based on the same platform as the Swift.
Maruti Swift Gncap: Adult Occupant Crash Test Results Explained
The 2022 Swift got 19.19 points out of a possible 34 points for protecting adult occupants. It got 6.3 points in a frontal offset deformable barrier test and 12.9 points in a side moving deformable barrier test.
In the frontal impact test, GNCAP said that the head and neck of the driver and passenger were well protected by the Swift. The chest protection for the driver was not good, but it was fine for the passenger. The driver’s knees and the passenger’s right knee were not well protected because they could touch dangerous parts behind the dashboard. The passenger’s left knee, on the other hand, was well protected. In the side impact test, the protection for the head, abdomen, and pelvis was good, but the protection for the chest was poor.
GNCAP also said that both the footwell area and the bodyshell were unstable and couldn’t handle any more weight. Notably, these results are not very different from what was found in the Swift’s previous crash tests. The 2018 Swift that didn’t have a facelift also had a lot of pressure on the driver’s chest, a weak structure, and bad protection in the footwell.
As part of Global NCAP’s new testing rules, cars must also be tested for side pole impact. But this wasn’t done to the Swift because it doesn’t even have an option for side head protection. The Swift also doesn’t come with standard Electronic Stability Control, so it wasn’t tested for safety assist systems either. Lastly, it does not meet the UN127 or GTR9 rules for protecting pedestrians.
Maruti Swift Gncap Child Occupant Crash Test Results Explained
The Swift got 16.68 out of a possible 49 points for how safe it is for children to ride in it. This includes a dynamic score of 12.82 points and an installation score of 3.86 points for the CRS (child restraint system).
The Swift was tested with a child dummy who was 18 months old and a child dummy who was 3 years old. Both of the child dummies were in child seats in the back, facing forward. For the 3-year-old child dummy, the child seats stopped it from moving too far forward. This gave the head good protection and the chest some protection. But for the 18-month-old dummy, it didn’t protect the head or chest very well. Again, these results are similar to the safety for children that the 2018 Swift offers.
The Swift only comes with ISOFIX anchorages for the two rear seats on the sides. The front passenger seat doesn’t have them. Also, the middle-seat passenger in the back doesn’t get a three-point seat belt.
Old And New Crash Test Scores Are Not Directly Comparable
When testing a car’s safety in a crash, Global NCAP’s new protocols take into account a lot more factors. For example, pedestrian protection standards must be met, ESC must be standard, there must be a side impact test, chest load readings on the crash test dummies must be evaluated more carefully, and child dummies must also go through a side impact test. Before, GNCAP only used a single frontal offset crash test to rate a car.
So, the Swift’s new score can’t be directly compared to its old score. However, since neither its active nor its passive safety features have been updated, the Swift doesn’t meet most of the stricter new standards. This is why the Swift’s safety rating has dropped from 2 stars to 1 star.
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