Tata Zest beats other Indian cars in safety, gets 4 stars in crash test
- Zest is first passenger vehicle from an Indian company to get such a high rating for safety
- Two versions - the standard non-airbag version, and new version with optional airbags were tested
FollowIf you are in the market for a sedan with road presence and safety as your top priorities, then you can definitely consider placing the Tata Zest sedan on your list. Zest is part of Tata Motors’ new product strategy it released in an attempt to leave behind the failed project that Nano was.
While India does not subscribe to any safety standards like they do abroad, the ratings of Global NCAP are being keenly followed for validation. Now, Tata Motors’ Zest is the first passenger vehicle from an Indian company to secure a 4-star rating on safety.
However, you must understand that this rating was secured by a version with two airbags and two seat-belt pretensioners. The initial version with which Tata Motors went to the NCAP was the standard entry-level model which only had the standard seat-belts in terms of passenger safety. Unsurprisingly, it got the Zest a zero star score for adult occupant protection and one star for child occupant protection.
As part of the #SaferCarsforIndia campaign, Global NCAP tested two versions of the Tata Zest. Following the failure of the first test, Tata Motors was allowed another chance and this time the company introduced a structural improvement to the entire Zest range while Global NCAP tested the new version with optional airbags.
The Zest with two airbags and two pretensioners showed substantial improvements and, together with the seat belt reminder in the driver seat, the Zest achieved an impressive four star score in adult occupant protection. Tata also selected other child restraint systems for the airbag version, improving the rear seat child occupant protection to 2 stars.
Tata Motors has announced that the improvements made to the structure will be brought to the entire vehicle range, for both airbag and non-airbag versions. Previously in May, Global NCAP conducted the crash test on five models of popular cars available in India and the rating was zero stars. The Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon all showed low levels of adult occupant protection. This had got the public and the government to sit up and take notice. Following a lot of hue and cry the road and transport ministry has issued a declaration which states that carmakers will have to provide airbags, vehicle reverse gear sensors for child pedestrian safety, speed-warning systems and seatbelt reminder system as standard equipment from October 2017.
