Global NCAP: Three, Two, One, Zero

Gobar NCRAP
Apr 24, 2024
6 min read

Yesterday, Global New Car Assessment Programme (the UK-based nonprofit that performs consumer safety testing on cars sold in emerging markets) announced a new set of crash test results for their #SaferCarsForIndia project, rating the Mahindra Bolero Neo (compact SUV), Honda Amaze (compact sedan) and two versions of the Kia Carens (midsize MPV).

Global NCAP put all three cars through two tests: a frontal offset deformable barrier test at 64km/h -- representing an off-centre crash between two similar cars traveling at 50km/h -- and a side impact test with a mobile barrier representing a small car striking the driver's door at 50km/h.

In both physical tests, the front seat had belted dummies representing the median European male, and 3 year-old and 18 month-old child dummies in child restraints selected -- and installed as directed -- by the vehicle manufacturer.

To better understand what consumer-test ratings should mean to you while shopping for a car and when on the road, see the About section at the bottom of bit.ly/gobarncrap-ratings. This page also contains comprehensive lists of safety features on Indian cars, including those not covered by Global NCAP's tests.

Warning: Nerd content. From here on we dive into the details of the results and put the relevance of the tests aside for a bit.

Mahindra BOLERO NEO

The Mahindra Bolero Neo is a rebadged version of the now-discontinued TUV300, itself a derivative of the problematic Scorpio tested by Global NCAP in 2016. Although aimed to be a successor to its namesake the Bolero, both are sold concurrently. The trio were updated in 2019 to comply with new crashworthiness legislation, but stick to a 'bare-minimum' approach when it comes to safety, with uncompetitive safety features and crashworthiness that only narrowly complies with legislation.

In the frontal offset test, the passenger compartment did not hold its shape well; there was high rearward movement of the door pillar, windscreen pillar and steering column, and the driver's survival space was compromised. Dummy readings of head deceleration were considered to indicate a 'hard contact' with the steering wheel, and calculated injury parameters indicated a moderate risk of skull fracture. Compression of the driver's ribs indicated a somewhat high risk of fracture, and the Bolero Neo was further penalized for not only an unstable passenger compartment but also for poor structural performance. Excessive pedal intrusion posed a high risk of ankle injury and entrapment.

In the side impact test, dummy readings indicated a low or limited risk of injury to all critical body regions thanks to the Bolero Neo's high seating position; but the car was penalized because a door was deemed to have opened.

The Bolero Neo doesn't offer ESC or curtain airbags, and couldn't qualify for additional testing of these systems required for a 3-star rating. That, and a decision to penalize the car for great difference in front and side impact performance, meant that the Bolero Neo's result was reduced to 1 star.

Read how the Bolero Neo could have been awarded 2 stars, had its side impact protection been worse!

Thanks to the excessive deformation in the front row, deceleration in the rear was reduced and the 3 year-old child in a forward-facing Britax-Römer SafeFix Plus was protected well, despite the restraint being installed using a seatbelt without an anti-rotation device. The Bolero Neo's owner's manual exempts the rear left seat from installing universal (belted) child restraints, so the 18 month-old in a rearward-facing Britax-Römer BabySafe Plus was not awarded points (Global NCAP noted it allowed head exposure during the frontal impact test anyway). The Bolero Neo could safely accommodate very few child restraints and offers very few features to protect children, and was awarded 1 star for child occupant protection.

Note: Global NCAP's report claims ISOFIX anchorages for the outboard seats are standard equipment on the Bolero Neo. In fact, these are not available on the lowest two variants, and where available, they are present only on the driver side.

Honda AMAZE

The soon-to-be-replaced Honda Amaze was first tested by Global NCAP in 2019 and reassessed this year against new protocols. Barring some missing crash protection features like three-point seatbelts for all seats or side airbags, it performs very well in crash tests overall. Unfortunately, this approach to protecting occupants does not extend to preventing crashes in the first place, as the Amaze offers no more active safety features than antilock brakes required since 2017.

In the frontal offset and side barrier crash tests, dummy readings indicated a low or limited risk of injury to all important body regions, except that the side impact dummy's ribs were compressed enough to indicate a moderate risk of fracture, and a penalty for hard points behind the fascia (the Amaze has pretensioners for the shoulder belts but not lap pretensioners to protect the knees of occupants of different statures).

Despite a total score above the five-star threshold, the Amaze was awarded only two as it didn't meet the additional requirements for even a 3-star rating -- it does not offer electronic stability control or side curtain airbags, and was consequently not tested for its pedestrian protection.

Global NCAP incorrectly says the Indian Amaze has only a driver seatbelt reminder, and awarded it only half a point. This is true of the African version used for the frontal impact, but Indian versions have always featured reminders for at least both front seatbelts.

Note: Despite Honda recommending different child restraints to Amaze customers outside Africa, Global NCAP have reused the original 2019 African test result with Maxi-Cosi child restraints. The recommended restraints in India are different: 'Honda genuine ISOFIX' (Honda-branded JSS ISOFIX Neo)

ree — Honda Amaze owners' manual recommends different restraints than those GNCAP used in the recycled African test.

With the African-market Maxi-Cosi child restraints the three year-old child's head contacted the C-pillar during rebound, and the armrest unlatched, striking the 18 month-old's restraint and ejecting it. The Amaze doesn't have a three-point seatbelt in the rear centre seat, which meant that it couldn't accommodate child restraints there and lost some points, additionally because of the lack of this feature it was awarded no points for its child safety features. The Amaze was awarded zero stars for child occupant protection.

Kia CARENS (from 5 May to 10 December 2023)

The Kia Carens was first tested by Global NCAP in 2022 against older criteria. Kia improved the crashworthiness of its structure, made the second-row seats i-Size compatible, added three-point seatbelts with reminders for all seats, and commissioned a retest.

In the frontal offset test, readings from of the driver's neck indicated a significant risk of injury, so the result was capped at zero stars.

The Carens was deemed to safely accommodate most child restraints and offer a number of features to protect children. Maximum points were received for the protection of the 18 month-old in a rearward-facing Britax-Römer BabySafe i-Size but the 3 year-old in a rearward-facing Britax-Römer DualFix 3 i-Size just narrowly missed out on maximum points, making the Carens fall just under the threshold for five stars.

Kia CARENS (from 11 December 2023)

The Carens was put through a second retest with "improvements to its restraint systems".

Readings from the driver's neck still showed a high risk of injury, but just narrowly below the limit Global NCAP considers high enough to cap the result at zero stars. Compression of the driver's chest was low, indicating a low risk of serious rib fracture. Excessive pedal intrusion hurt the Carens' score, and inspection of the load paths revealed they were at their limit, so the Carens did not qualify for additional sled testing to demonstrate protection from hard points in the fascia that could hurt the knees of occupants of varied statures.

In the side impact test, dummy readings indicated a low risk of serious injury to all body regions, characteristic of most cars with high seating positions.

The Carens' electronic stability control system was compliant with ECE R13H, a series of steering pulses representing a highway emergency manoeuvre.

The Carens has curtain airbags but Kia opted not to proceed with the side pole test as the Carens would not have qualified for higher ratings anyway. It was not awarded points for its rear seatbelt reminders as Global NCAP deemed them non-compliant.

Child occupant protection was nearly identical to the previous version barring the negligible difference in points for the dynamics of the three year-old child dummy. The latest Carens landed squarely on the threshold to receive five stars in this section.