Datsun GO scores 0/135 in safety crash test in South Africa

Automobile Association of South Africa (AASA) has tested 23 cars in categories of acceptable, moderate and poor safety. AASA has released an Entry Level Vehicle Safety Report on the safety features of these 23 cars on sale in South Africa all priced under R150,000 (INR 7.32 lakhs).

The vehicles were rated out of 135 points and were assesses on the basis of ABS, ESC, Driver’s airbag, front passenger airbag, side airbags, curtain airbags and NCAP crash test ratings. The cars which received less than 3 points were classified as Poor while those vehicles with a 3-3.99 rating were classified as Moderate. It was only those with scores of above 3.99 that were said to be Acceptable.

The crash test results revealed that India made Honda Brio, Maruti Suzuki Swift and Celerio scored a moderate rating, while Datsun GO, Tata Indica and Vista were rated in the poor safety category. Tata Vista and Indica were on sale without airbags while Datsun GO, despite a driver’s airbag failed in the test due to its poor structure quality.

Rated as Poor, the Datsun GO, Tata Indica, Vista scored 0/135 while Honda Brio scored 50/135 and received a Moderate rating.

This is not the first time Datsun Go is in the news for scoring poorly in a crash test. Back in 2014, it was first tested by Global NCAP. The result shocked the officials to such an extent that they asked Renault-Nissan Alliance to immediately withdraw Datsun Go from the markets across the globe. However, the car continues to be on sale, so are the other cars which have scored poorly in safety crash tests.

UPDATE

Tata Motors have refuted the claims made by AASA over their cars. Below is a statement from Tata Motors.

“We would like to clarify that the Tata Indica and Vista have not recently been crash tested by the Automobile Association in South Africa, as mentioned in your article and they meet all safety regulations for the country. It is imperative to understand safety in a relevant country-specific context as opposed to a blind transposition of homogenized, norms of developed markets to emerging markets by means of a mere brochure comparison. At Tata Motors, we look at safety in a holistic manner, to assess vehicle performance across varied parameters”