Suzuki Baleno scores Zero Stars NCAP
The Maruti Suzuki Baleno, which is built in India, recently passed the Latin New Car Assessment Program (Latin NCAP) crash tests and received a zero-star rating. Maruti Suzuki‘s Gujarat plant produced the model in question, which was then shipped to Latin American markets. Another Suzuki automobile built in India, the Swift, received a one-star rating earlier this year.
Two airbags, a seat belt pre-tensioner, a seatbelt reminder, ISOFIX points on the outside rear seats, and ABS were included in the base grade of the Baleno tested by Latin NCAP.
As a result, the Baleno only received 20% in the adult occupant safety test, with its lone point coming from the frontal offset test, which received an 8 out of 12 rating. In two additional areas, the whiplash rear impact test and the side moveable deformable barrier test, it received zero scores. Because the car did not come with side head protection as standard, Latin NCAP missed the side pole impact test.
The Baleno fared much worse in the child occupant protection test, achieving only 17 percent. The Baleno received 4.36 out of a potential 12 points in the safety restraints installation category, but only 4 out of a possible 13 points in the vehicle assessment test. The Baleno received a score of 0 out of 24 in the actual dynamic tests.
Pedestrian protection was by far the greatest area for the Baleno, with a score of 64.06 percent coming entirely from passive tests. No points were awarded because no testing could be undertaken because the Baleno lacked active pedestrian protection systems.
Finally, Baleno’s lowest category was safety assists, where it obtained a 6.98 percent grade. It got its only points from the seat belt reminder system; it didn’t have a lane maintain system, road edge recognition, blind spot detection, ESC, or other autonomous emergency braking capabilities.
The bodyshell and driver and passenger footwells were judged as stable after the frontal offset collision test, according to the testers’ comments.
The Euro NCAP assessed the made-in-India Maruti Suzuki Baleno back in 2016, when it was first debuted, and awarded it a three-star rating. However, it’s worth noting that the car in question was a European-spec model with more standard safety equipment like six airbags and ESC, and the testing themselves weren’t as stringent.
