Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun have been certified by safety watchdog Global NCAP with a 5-star rating in crash tests. The SUV’s incidentally are the first cars ever to have been rated 5 stars by GNCAP in both adult and child occupancy.
Coming as a surprise to none, the new MQB-A0-IN platform based cars from the Skoda Volkswagen India Group outscore their competition decidedly. The made-in-India German cars secured a 29.64 out of 34 in adult protection and a 42 out of a maximum of 49 in child occupancy protection under the overhauled GNCAP norms.
In comparison, the feature-loaded Hyundai Creta only gets you a 3 star rating, that too with older norms.
Safety Observations of GNCAP:
- The protection offered to the driver and passenger’s head and neck was marked good.
- Driver’s chest showed adequate protection and passenger’s chest showed good protection.
- Both driver and passenger’s knees showed good protection.
- The driver’s tibias showed marginal to adequate protection while passenger’s tibias showed good protection.
- As for side impact, head, abdomen and pelvis protection was good while chest protection was marginal.
Global NCAP mandates testing of standard variants, case in point the Kushaq and Taigun that come equipped with dual frontal airbags, ESC, seat belt pretensioner and reminder, UN127 pedestrian protection and ISOFIX child seat anchor points. The safety watchdog rated the car’s body shell and footwell integrity as ‘Stable’ and affirmative on structural side impact protection doors.
The new testing norms:
Global NCAP’s updated crash test protocols assess frontal and side impact protection for all tested models. Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection and side impact pole protection assessments are also now required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.
As of July 2022, the new GNCAP crash test norms will also include a 50kph side impact test, front and rear seatbelt reminders, ESC on as many units as possible, UN127 pedestrian protection and a side pole impact test for cars with curtain airbags.
Volkswagen Taigun and Skoda Kushaq compete with the Korean siblings of the Hyundai Creta and the Kia Seltos, along with the newly launched Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder.
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