While scoring the highest 5 stars in Global NCAP, Mahindra Scorpio N Scores 0 stars in ANCAP owing to missing a few safety features
Mahindra Scorpio is one of the hottest products in India in 2023. Going strong in India with good sales backing. Both Scorpio Classic and Scorpio N have remarkable fan following and loyalty. As tested by Global NCAP, Scorpio N gets a 5 star crash safety rating. But down under, Australian NCAP agency have awarded the vehicle 0 stars.
Mahindra Scorpio N Scores 0 Stars In ANCAP
For context, 0 star is the lowest possible score and 5 stars, the highest in NCAP crash test protocols across the world. How can the same vehicle score two crash ratings that are polar opposite to each other? That’s because every NCAP agency operates and follow different crash testing protocols.
Called Scorpio in Australasia, Mahindra Scorpio N scored 44% in adult occupant protection, 80% in child occupant protection, 23% in vulnerable road user protection and 0% in safety assist. ANCAP prioritises a few safety assist features to score well in their crash tests. Primary of them are AEB (Auto Emergency Braking) and LSS (Lane Support System).
Breaking down the ratings further, Mahindra Scorpio N scored 3.33/8 points in frontal offset test, 0.00/8 points in full width frontal, 6/6 points in side impact, 5.31/6 points in oblique pole test, 0.53/4 points in whiplash protection, 0/4 points in far side impact test, 2.50/4 points for rescue and extrication tests.
Main contributors for 0 stars as per ANCAP
Australian government has mandated AEB and a few other active safety systems in all vehicles. Mahindra had managed to homologate their Scorpio and XUV700 ahead of this mandate. Giving them two years of headroom to implement mandated tech. XUV700 has most of these mandated tech and is expected to fare much better in ANCAP tests in the future.
As per Australian NCAP, Mahindra lacked a few crucial safety elements. Particularly, side head-protecting airbags don’t extend to protect 3rd row occupants as they only cover 2nd row occupants. There is no centre airbag to prevent occupant-to-occupant head impact during a crash as well.
The 7-seater version on sale in New Zealand only gets a lap-only centre seatbelt instead of a proper 3-point one. ANCAP advises against lap-only seatbelts for occupants of any size. Also, top tether anchorages are not on offer with both 2nd and 3rd row seats in Scorpio N, making child seat installation not recommendable.
Primary culprits for this low crash safety rating seems to be AEB and LSS. Other than that, seat belt reminder system is standard fitment only for front-row occupants, whereas they are missing for 2nd and 3rd row seats entirely. There are a few more safety features like DMS (Driver Monitoring System), SLIF (Speed Limit Information Function) and CPD (Child Presence Detector).
