With Global NCAP crash testing made-in-India cars one after the other, safety has suddenly come to fore front here in India. Customers are now actually prioritizing safety over other things, and that's a great thing. Global NCAP has now tested the made-in-India Renault Kwid facelift and it marks an improvement over its predecessor. When Global NCAP tested the Renault Kwid back in 2016, it only got a 1-star safety rating but now, the Renault Kwid safety rating stands at 2-stars. The fact that the Renault Kwid safety rating fared better than the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso, it's arch rival, is already a great boost for the brand.
The Kwid that was tested is actually made-in-India and sold in South Africa. It is however largely similar to the India-spec model. As is the norm, Global NCAP crash tested the Kwid at a speed of 64kph. It scored a 2-star safety rating in both Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP). The body shell was however rated unstable on impact and it was not capable of withstanding further loads. The report however did note that Renault has improved the body structure when compared to its predecessor.
Also Read: The Skoda Kushaq Will Score Extremely Well On Safety - Here's Why
In Adult Occupant Protection (AOP), the Kwid scored 7.78 points out of 17 available. For reference, its pretty close to 8.02 points that the India-spec Kia Seltos managed a few days ago. The Kwid offered good head protection for the passenger but the driver's head protection was rated as adequate. Chest protection was rated as poor for the driver and adequate for the passenger. Knee protection for both the driver and passenger was rated as marginal as it could be hurt by structures behind the dashboard.
In Child Occupant Protection (COP), the Kwid managed a score of 19.68 points out of 49. Excessive movement for the 3-year old child dummy seated on the front-facing child seats could not be prevented. The child's head and chest were also only marginally protected due to structural failure. Even the 18-month-old child dummy seated on rearward-facing child seat had limited protection for head as it came in contact with the structure. The Kwid also lacked three-point seat belts for the middle passenger and ISOFIX child seat mounts, thus leading to some further points deduction.
It must however be noted that the South-African spec model gets dual-airbags as standard while the India-spec model only gets a driver side airbag. In India, it's only the top-spec Climber (O) variant that gets dual airbags. Dual-airbags contribute hugely to Global NCAP ratings and that's a big miss on the India-spec model. The Brazilian-spec Renault Kwid gets 3-star safety rating because it additionally gets side airbags as well. It's still good to see that the Renault Kwid has slightly improved over its predecessor. More importantly, its better than the 0-star safety rating of the S-Presso. A few more standard safety features, and the India-spec Renault Kwid safety rating will surely fare better.
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