Toyota Innova duo scores low in latest seatbelt reminder evaluations.

Today, Gobar NCRAP is releasing the highly requested evaluation results for the Toyota Innova Crysta and Hycross, and the latter's corporate twin: the Maruti Suzuki Invicto.

The ubiquitous MPVs are awarded C grades for their rear seatbelt reminders, whose secondary audio signals only activate if a belt is fastened and then unfastened. The system, first introduced on the Hycross and later made optional on the Crysta, has now been made standard equipment on the latter, ahead of legislation due to be enforced next week.

REGULATORY CHANGES COMING NEXT WEEK

The amended regulation will require vehicle manufacturers to fit seatbelt reminders in the forward-facing seating positions of all new vehicles of approval category M1, but disappointingly, approval only requires the secondary audio signal to activate when a belt changes its status from fastened to unfastened in any seat. The regulation allows — but does not require — that the signal be discontinued if the seat is unoccupied, resulting in a flood of low-cost systems that do not include occupant detection.

Read Team-BHP article on the issue

More surprisingly, even local consumer-test programs do not offer incentives for occupant detection. Global NCAP's #SAFERCARSFORINDIA project awards a point to any rear seatbelt reminders that meet a 13 year-old Euro NCAP protocol that "recommends" but does not "require" occupant detection for the rear seats. The recently launched Bharat NCAP does not evaluate seatbelt reminders at all.

More details on the results are available on the ratings page: bit.ly/gobargrades2025