The crash test was conducted on the Africa-spec Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. The Ertiga Sold in Africa is manufactured in India and comes equipped with two standard frontal airbags. The overall ratings are as:
Adult Protection: 23.63 out of 34
Child Protection: 19.40 out of 49
The child protection rating is very poor considering the car is a family MUV. The Global NCAP stated that the child occupant protection was inadequate for the 18-month-old dummy. The passenger airbag cannot be disconnected if a rearward-facing CRS is installed in the front seat. This also impacted the child safety rating as the bag could impact the child. The side impact of child protection was good. The Ertiga’s lack of a proper seat belt in the rear center position is the main reason for the large deduction in points for child occupant protection.
The structure was assessed to be on the verge of instability. The footwell region was assessed as unstable, and the displacement of the pedals posed a danger of damage to the driver’s lower legs. The level of head and neck protection provided for adult occupants was satisfactory. The passenger’s chest was well protected, whereas the driver’s chest received only minimal protection.
The side impact protection demonstrated commendable safeguarding for the head, pelvis, and abdomen while providing satisfactory protection for the chest. The Ertiga lacks the provision of side airbags, even as an optional feature.
What can be Expected for an Indian Maruti Ertiga?
The safety ratings might be more or less similar to what we have seen in the Africa bound Maruti Ertiga. However, a few things can improve the ratings here such as
- The option of having 4 airbags (2 knee airbags additional) in the Indian versions of Maruti Ertiga can increase the ‘Marginal’ protection to ‘Adequate’ or even ‘Good’ level of Knee protection.
- That the failed pretensioners in the car also depleted the ratings.
- The India-spec Ertiga also has the seat belt reminder in for the back seat passengers as well which the Africa-spec car was lacking.
Our Take on the Crash Test Rating of Maruti Ertiga
It should be a knocking reminder for Maruti to focus more on the safety front of their cars. They are improving somewhat and moving in that direction yet the effort is not perfect. At least, the cars which are mostly targeted to the families and tourists should have to be much safer.
