India’s safest car ( based on the combined score of adult and child occupancy under the Global N-Cap test ), the Mahindra XUV 300 has now become the first car for Africa to have scored a 5-star rating under the Global N-Cap test under the #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign. This campaign was first introduced by Global N-Cap in 2017 to promote safer cars for Africa.
More details
The model that underwent the crash test was made in India and features all major safety features as the India-spec model like dual front airbags, ABS, EBD, rear parking sensor, seat pre-tensioners as standard. Higher trims offer 7 airbags, hill assist, all-wheel discs and front parking sensors.
The Africa-spec XUV 300 scored 16.42 points out of the possible 17 for adult occupancy and scored 37.44 points out of the possible 49 for child occupancy. In India as well, XUV 300 had scored the highest combined score for any Indian car under Global N-Cap, followed by Tata Altroz and Tata Nexon. A 5-star safety rating should serve as one of the major USPs for the XUV 300 in Africa as well.
Official statements
Commenting on the safety of the adult occupant, GNCAP says: “The protection offered to the driver and passenger’s head and neck was good. Driver’s chest showed adequate protection while the passenger’s chest received good protection. The bodyshell was rated as stable and it was capable of withstanding further loadings. Footwell area was rated as stable. Side impact Regulation UN95: the car met technical requirements of regulation UN95 as standard. The vehicle has standard SBR for driver and passenger. The car has standard ABS.”
For the child occupant, “The child seat for the 3-year old was able to prevent excessive forward movement during the impact offering fair protection to the chest. The 18-month-old CRS was installed with ISOFIX and support leg and protection offered to the 1.5-year-old dummy was good. The vehicle offers standard ISOFIX and top tether anchorages in the 2 outboard rear seats and does not offer 3-point belts in all seating positions. The car offers passenger airbag disconnection switch in case a rear-facing CRS needs to be installed in the front passenger seat.”
The engines for the Africa-spec XUV 300 are the same 1.2L turbo petrol producing 110PS and 200Nm of peak outputs mated to a 6-speed MT and a 1.5L turbo-diesel engine producing 115PS and 300Nm of peak outputs mated to a 6-speed MT of a 6-speed AMT.