Maruti cars have been critiqued severely for their build quality in the past and with a new NCAP testing of the Suzuki S-presso results haven’t been that great for the preset either. Suzuki Espresso manufactured for South Africa was tested by GNCAP and given a meek 3 star rating for adult occupant safety and a 2 star rating for child passenger safety.
Reason Behind Low Ratings of Indian Version
The Indian version which was tested earlier on was given 0 stars for adult occupancy while, the version tested now has dual frontal airbags as well as seatbelt pre-tensioners, it was in April 2022 that Maruti Suzuki itself discontinued its single airbag up front variants of the Alto as well as the S presso.
S presso sold in South Africa has dual airbags as well as seatbelt pre-tensioners as standard in all variants and those additions became the reason behind their higher score when compared to the Indian variant.
Performance in Crash Test
S-Presso’s structure showcased unstable performance. Driver’s chest had a weak protection level to only just acquire a three star rating. A poor child protection rating is attributed to lack of ISOFIX anchorages, lack of a three-point belt in all seating positions and the fact that the company didn’t recommend a Child Restraint System (CRS). Even in Africa to strengthen the safety protocols the addition of side impact test as well as mandatory addition of ESC would be undertaken.
Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Global NCAP spoke “The safety performance of the S-Presso in South Africa has been far from satisfactory and claims of improvement are not reflected in levels of child occupant protection which remain the same as the Indian version we tested in 2020. There has been significant progress with vehicle safety in the Indian market with a welcome requirement for the fitment of six airbags as standard. We hope that Maruti Suzuki will not apply a double standard for the vehicles they sell in Africa compared to those sold in India.
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