​Legacy Ratings

About the ratings

Cars are rated on a scale of 'Not Recommended', 'Fair', 'Recommended' and 'Best Pick', based on their safety features.​ A car may have either a single rating for 'all variants' or a dual rating - one 'with standard equipment', for the most basic version of the car, and one 'with optional equipment', for the best equipped version. Ratings for versions with a level of safety equipment between these may lie between the two, but it is virtually impossible to rate every variant of every car on the market.

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A single overall rating is often a misleading measure of relative safety. Different cars may be awarded the same rating for a variety of reasons, not all of which may be relevant to you. Please be sure to check the complete list of safety features, and if necessary, the assessment criteria to learn why a vehicle was awarded a certain rating and make a decision that's better suited to your safety needs instead of relying solely on the overall Gobar NCRAP rating.

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The effectiveness of many safety features is significantly compromised by improper use. Airbags, for example, may prove ineffective or even dangerous for unrestrained occupants. While we dedicate a portion of assessment to features that encourage safe practices, it is vital that consumers also do their part. This includes, but is not limited to properly restraining occupants: all adults must be restrained by a three-point safety belt, and children under 12 years of age must be secured in a correctly installed child restraint of the appropriate group.

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Ratings are accompanied by a datestamp and a size segment. The datestamp not only reflects any changes the vehicle manufacturer may make over the the lifespan of the model, but also indicates the version of our assessment criteria used to rate the car. Larger vehicles are inherently safer for occupants and less safe for vulnerable road users - be sure to only compare ratings for cars from the same class.

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Often, the same safety feature may not perform equally well in different car models, and it's impossible to test their effectiveness in every scenario; in fact, the majority of car crash configurations in India remain unaccounted for by known legislative or consumer-testing safety standards. In the meanwhile, Global NCAP, an independent UK-based nonprofit dedicated to improving vehicle safety standards in emerging markets, as well as Bharat NCAP, an initiative by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, physically test popular Indian cars for the risk of serious injury presented to instrumented crash test dummies representing:

• an adult male driver and front passenger

• infants seated in child restraints approved by the vehicle manufacturer

in select laboratory scenarios that simulate:​

• an off-centre frontal crash with a similar car

• a side impact with a small car striking the driver's door

• optionally, a side impact with a tree or post (at the vehicle manufacturer's expense)

The cars are then rated on a scale of 1 to 5 stars according to a consumer standard that distinguishes cars that already meet legislative requirements for crashworthiness and active safety.

To make a safer choice, look for a car that performs well in consumer tests, as well as offers a good level of safety features - not always part of the limited scenarios covered by the former. Check out Global NCAP's consumer ratings here and Bharat NCAP's here.