South Africa-spec Suzuki S-Presso Provides Better Safety Than Indian Model

Maruti S Presso is currently suffering a crisis due to its poor performance at the Global NCAP safety test. According to the released results, Maruti S Presso received zero-star rating at the crash test, which has become a reason for Tata Motors to throw shade at Maruti. In the face of all these controversies, Maruti Suzuki just simply affirms that the S Presso has passed the required safety test and met the standards set by the Indian government. In a recent development, Suzuki’s brand manager in South Africa, Brendon Carpenter, claimed that the S Presso sold in South Africa is safer than the India-spec model.

Maruti S Presso receives shockingly poor results at Global NCAP 

In an official statement, he went on explaining, “The model that was used in the crash test is an Indian-spec model that is built exclusively for the Indian market.” He also pointed out the differences between the India-spec model and the South Africa-bound version. While the Maruti S Presso does not come with front seatbelts with pre-tensioner and load limiters, this feature is available as standard on the S Presso sold in South Africa. In addition, the base Maruti S Presso only gets driver airbags, while the South African counterpart receives dual front airbags across the range. With these enhancements, he is confident that the S Presso in the South African market is safer than the India-spec version. He also declares that “The S-Presso offers good value, but not at the expense of safety.” It should be noted that the Global NCAP only used the base model for safety testing.

As per the crash test report, the Maruti S Presso scored zero star for adult protection and two stars for child protection. Such poor result must be contributed to the fact that the base Maruti S Presso variant lacks front passenger airbag. It was noted that the passenger’s neck and chest area were severely injured after the crash. In a different note, the Maruti S Presso’s body and footwell structure was rated as unstable. Additionally, the micro SUV is not equipped with three-point seat belts in all positions or ISOFIX anchorages for child protection.

On the base variant, the Maruti S Preso gets features like driver-side airbags, rear parking sensors, ABS with EBD, speed alert, front seatbelt reminder. For the top-spec model, the safety list is added with airbag for front passenger and front belt pre-tensioners. These additional features are available as options for lower variants.