Maruti Suzuki Swift scores one-star rating at GNCAP crash tests

Global NCAP has tested the Maruti Suzuki Swift once again, but this time around it has come away with a rather poor 1-star rating for both adult and child occupant protection. The Maruti Swift – along with the Ignis, S Presso and the Mahindra Scorpio N – was among the second lot of cars to be tested under Global NCAP’s more stringent protocols that came into effect in July this year.

The model tested was manufactured in India for the domestic market and came equipped with dual front airbags, seat belt pretensioners, rear ISOFIX anchorages and seat belt reminders. The current-gen Swift was previously tested by GNCAP in 2018 in its pre-facelift guise where it scored 2 stars for both adult and child occupant protection.

Notably, these ratings are also applicable for the Dzire compact sedan as both are underpinned by the same platform, and are sibling models.  

Adult occupant crash test
The 2022 Swift scored 19.19 points out of a possible 34 points in adult occupant protection, including a frontal offset deformable barrier test and a side movable deformable barrier test where it scored 6.3 points and 12.9 points, respectively.

In the frontal impact test, GNCAP noted that the Swift offered good protection to the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck. Protection for the driver’s chest was weak, while it was adequate for the passenger. The driver’s knees and the passenger’s right knee showed marginal protection as they could come in contact with dangerous structures behind the dashboard, while the passenger’s left knee showed good protection. In the side impact test, head, abdomen and pelvis protection was good, but chest protection was rated poor.

GNCAP also noted that the footwell area as well as the bodyshell were unstable, and were not capable of withstanding any further loadings. Notably, these findings are not very different from the previous crash tests of the Swift. The 2018 pre-facelift Swift also recorded high compression to the driver’s chest, an unstable structure and poor protection in the footwell area.

Global NCAP’s new testing protocols also requires cars to be tested for side pole impact test. However, the same was not performed on the Swift as it does not get side head protection, even as an option. The Swift also does not come with Electronic Stability Control as standard, which is why it was not tested for safety assist systems either. Lastly, it also does not comply with UN127 or GTR9 pedestrian protection norms.

Child occupant crash test 
When it comes to child occupant protection, the Swift scored 16.68 points out of a possible 49. This includes a dynamic score of 12.82 points and CRS (child restrain system) installation score of 3.86 points.

The Swift was tested with both an 18-month-old child dummy and a 3-year-old child dummy, both seated facing forward in child seats at the rear. For the 3-year-old child dummy, the child seats were able to prevent excessive forward movement, thereby offering good protection to the head and marginal protection to the chest. However, for the 18-month-old dummy, it showed poor protection for the head and chest. Again, these findings are similar to the child occupant protection offered by the 2018 Swift.

The Swift comes with standard ISOFIX anchorages only for the two outboard rear seats, but misses out for the front passenger seat. It also does not get a three-point seat belt for the rear passenger seated in the middle.

Old and new crash test scores
Global NCAP’s new protocols take a lot more factors into account while crash testing a car such as mandatory compliance with pedestrian protection norms, standard fitment of ESC, side impact test, more stringent evaluation of chest load readings on the crash test dummies and also side impact test for the child dummies. Previously, GNCAP’s assessment was only based on a single frontal offset crash test.

Therefore, the Swift’s new score is not directly comparable with the old score, however, with no upgrades to active or passive safety features, the Swift naturally does not meet most of the newer stringent norms. This explains why the Swift’s safety rating has gone down from a previous 2 stars to a 1-star rating now.

Also read
GNCAP safety ratings get new markers to differentiate from older protocol
Mahindra Scorpio N earns five-star GNCAP score under new rules
Maruti Suzuki S Presso scores one-star rating under updated GNCAP protocols
Maruti Suzuki Ignis receives one-star GNCAP rating