MSI's premium hatchback Ignis gets three stars safety ratings from Global NCAP

Global NCAP, an international charity and vehicle safety group, has given three stars safety ratings out of five for adult occupant protection to Maruti Suzuki India's (MSI) premium hatchback Ignis sold in South Africa after conducting crash tests. The model, which is manufactured at the company's Gurgaon plant and exported to South Africa, achieved three stars in frontal crash test at 64km/hr.

The crash tests were conducted by Global NCAP and the Automobile Association of South Africa as part of its latest #SaferCarsforAfrica initiative, the vehicle safety group said in a statement on its website. Global NCAP rated the structure of Ignis as unstable due to weak chest protection for the driver. It pointed out that the model got a low score in child safety too as Suzuki did not recommend a specific Child Restraint System (CRS) in the test car. The South African Ignis comes with two airbags and ABS as standard, while the European version of the model offers six airbags and electronic stability control as standard fitment.

"These results are encouraging but indicate more work needs to be done to protect child occupants in vehicles. While we have minimum safety standards for vehicles in South Africa, we need to appreciate that minimum is not good enough," the Automobile Association of South Africa Executive Chairman Sikkie Kajee said in a statement. In a similar crash test, the Honda Amaze achieved four stars for adult occupant protection in the frontal crash test at 64km/hr. Global NCAP rated its structure as stable. It, however, achieved a one star rating for child occupant protection. "Using the child seats recommended by Honda, the Amaze only achieved a one star rating for child occupant protection," Global NCAP said.