Top 5 Safest Maruti Suzuki Cars in India 2024 with GNCAP Ratings

India’s leading carmaker in terms of volumes, Maruti Suzuki, has become a household name for offering class-leading fuel efficiency, low ownership costs and practicality. However, the one area where Maruti Suzuki has been overpowered by other car brands is safety. The prime organisation for testing the safety of mass-market cars sold in India, Global NCAP, has crash-tested several Maruti Suzuki cars in the recent past. Almost half of the Maruti Suzuki lineup has gone through the stringiest parameters set by Global NCAP in its crash tests. Based on the results of these tests, here are the five safest Maruti Suzuki cars that one can buy currently in India:

 1. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

The safest car from Maruti Suzuki right now, the Ertiga, was crash-tested by GNCAP in 2019 under the older program. In that test, it scored 9.25 points out of 17 in adult occupant protection and 25.16 out of 49 in children occupant protection, leading to a 3-star rating in the Safer Cars for India campaign.

For adult protection, while the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga was rated good for the head protection of occupants seated in the front seats,, it offered marginal chest protection for both, the driver and the passenger. In this test, the seatbelt pretensioner of the Ertiga couldn’t work properly, while the bodyshell integrity was rated unstable.

The Maruti Suzuki Ertiga is currently the highest-selling MUV in the Indian car market, with this seven-seater MUV being offered only with a single 1.5-litre petrol engine option.

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Key Safety Features

2. Maruti Suzuki Alto K10

Surprisingly, the most cost-conscious car model from Maruti Suzuki, the Alto K10, fared better than all the other larger-sized Maruti Suzuki cars in the GNCAP crash tests. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 was tested in the latest round of GNCAP crash tests, in which it secured 21.67 points out of 34 for adult occupant protection, leading to a 2-star rating. Meanwhile, it scored very poor 3.52 points out of 49 in child occupant protection.

In the Global NCAP crash tests, the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 displayed good protection for the heads and necks of front seat occupants. It also projected marginal chest protection for and poor knee protection for the front occupants. Unlike Ertiga, the bodyshell of the Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 was rated stable in these crash tests, though the footwell was rated unstable.

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Key Safety Features

3. Maruti Suzuki S-Presso

First tested by Global NCAP in 2020, when it secured a 0-star rating, the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso scored a better but still poor 1-star safety rating in the updated GNCAP protocols in 2022. In this new round of testing, this quirky-looking entry-level hatchback from Maruti scored 20.03 points out of 34 in adult occupant protection and 3.52 points out of 49 in child occupant protection.

When tested for frontal impact, the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso was rated as good for the heads of front occupants, poor protection for the driver’s chest and marginal protection of the co-passenger’s chest. Compared to the version in its previous round of Global NCAP in which it came only with a driver-side airbag, the S-Presso tested in this round had dual front airbags. It is one of the reasons why it scored a better safety rating than before.

Maruti Suzuki S-Presso Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki S-Presso Key Safety Features

4. Maruti Suzuki WagonR

Another popular and high-selling car from Maruti Suzuki tested by Global NCAP in its latest round of crash tests was the WagonR. This entry-level hatchback secured a 2-star rating in the previous round conducted in 2019. However, with stricter norms in the latest round, it secured a lower 1-star rating. While it secured 19.69 points out of 34 in adult occupant protection, the results in child occupant protection were even more dismal, with 3.4 points out of 49, while its bodyshell was rated unstable.

The results scored by Maruti Suzuki WagonR in frontal impact tests were good protection for the neck, adequate protection for the head, marginal protection for the knees and weak protection for the chest of the driver. On the other hand, for the co-driver side, the ratings were adequate protection for the chest and good protection for the head and neck. The drop in safety ratings of WagonR is due to the lack of side airbags and compliance with pedestrian safety norms, which are new parameters introduced in GNCAP crash tests.

Maruti Suzuki WagonR Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki WagonR Key Safety Features

5. Maruti Suzuki Ignis

Last on this list is the most affordable and smallest car from Maruti Suzuki’s premium NEXA chain of outlets, the Ignis. Another off-beat-looking hatchback from Maruti Suzuki, the Ignis, secured a 1-star rating, with 16.48 points out of 34 in adult occupant protection and 3.86 points out of 49 in child occupant protection.

Tested in the latest version of GNCAP crash tests, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis offered good protection for the heads and necks of front occupants, weak protection for the driver’s chest and adequate protection for the co-passenger’s chest. With its bodyshell rated as unstable, the Maruti Suzuki Ignis also offered marginal protection for the knees of front occupants. Like the S-Presso, the Ignis failed to comply with new pedestrian safety norms and side impact protection, leading to abysmal results in GNCAP crash tests.

Maruti Suzuki Ignis Key Specifications

Maruti Suzuki Ignis Key Safety Features

Are Maruti Suzuki cars safe?

The results of these five best safety rating cars from Maruti Suzuki depict that they are not up to the industry standards set higher by brands like Tata, Mahindra, Skoda and Volkswagen. With these safety ratings, the perception of Maruti Suzuki might appear to be weaker as a maker of safer cars in the first place.

However, except Ertiga, all the current cars tested by GNCAP are entry-level, small hatchbacks engineered in budget constraints and cater to cost-conscious buyers. While that’s not an excuse for Maruti Suzuki to build not-so-safe cars, it is interesting to note that the more-premium vehicles from Maruti Suzuki, especially from NEXA’s portfolio, haven’t been tested yet by Global NCAP.

It should be noted that Maruti Suzuki’s only premium offering tested by Global NCAP, the Vitara Brezza, secured a commendable 4-star rating in the crash tests. Even the newer premium offerings from Maruti Suzuki, such as the updated Baleno, new-generation Swift, Grand Vitara, Jimny and XL6, are expected to be safer cars, offering better build quality and side airbags. None of the safest Maruti Suzuki cars come with premium ADAS features, but get essential active and passive features, complying with basic safety norms. 

FAQ

Q. What is the cheapest Maruti car in India to get a stable platform?

All the latest-generation hatchbacks from Maruti Suzuki, except the Ignis, are now based on Maruti Suzuki’s latest Heartect platform, with the Alto K10 being the cheapest among all.

Q. What is the safety rating of the Maruti Vitara?The previous-generation Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza secured a commendable 4-star rating in the Global NCAP crash tests. Meanwhile, the second-generation Brezza and Grand Vitara are yet to be tested by Global NCAP.

Q. How do Maruti cars compare to other brands in terms of safety?Compared to the other rival brands like Tata, Mahindra, Skoda and Volkswagen, Maruti Suzuki has scored relatively lower scores in crash tests conducted by Global NCAP.

Q. How important is the body structure in determining a car's safety?The body structure of a car determines its safety based on its stiffness level, tensile strength, resistance to impact and weight distribution.