Tata Safari and Harrier receive first ever Bharat NCAP 5-star rating

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Tata Motors has announced that its Safari and Harrier SUVs are the first vehicles to secure a 5-star rating in Bharat NCAP’s crash test. Both SUVs had also scored five stars in the Global NCAP crash test on which Bharat NCAP is based on. The Harrier and Safari were recently updated and received mechanical as well as cosmetic upgrades.

By: Paarth Khatri
| Updated on: 20 Dec 2023, 21:24 PM

BNCAP
The Harrier and Safari are the first vehicles to be tested by Bharat NCAP.

Tata Harrier and Safari received 30.08 points out of 32 in Adult Protection and 44.54 points out of 49 in Child Protection. The SUVs were fitted with seven airbags out of which six are offered as standard across all variants, Electronic Stability Control, three-point seatbelts in all rows, seatbelt reminders for all passengers, ISOFIX child seat mounts and seatbelts with retractor, pretensioner, load limiter and anchor pretensioner.

The Harrier is priced between 15.49 lakh and 26.44 lakh whereas the Safari starts at 16.19 lakh and goes up to 27.34 lakh. All prices are ex-showroom. Both SUVs use the same 2.0-litre diesel engine that is sourced from Fiat. It produces 168 bhp and 350 Nm. The gearbox on duty is a 6-speed manual unit or a 6-speed torque converter transmission.

Watch: Tata Harrier or Safari? Which one should you pick and why

Tata Motors has now found one more reason to underline the safety credentials of its vehicles. “Bharat-NCAP is a significant step forward as it provides customers with a credible, objective score to evaluate the safety aspects of various vehicles. Informed customers taking optimal decisions will further foster the rising preference for safer vehicles in the country,” said Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. “We acknowledge and appreciate the collaborative efforts of the government, regulatory bodies, and the automotive industry in this pursuit. At Tata Motors, safety is at the core of our DNA and we are honoured to win this maiden Bharat-NCAP certification with an exemplary 5-star rating for two of our vehicles. We remain committed and will continue to work towards improving vehicle safety holistically.”

Also Read : Tata Nexon to Mahindra XUV700: How 5-star GNCAP safety ratings boosted these Indian cars’ sales performance

What is Bharat NCAP?

Bharat NCAP is a a star-rating system for crash testing cars that are available in Indian market specifically. As previously mentioned, it is based on the Global NCAP crash test system and will rate vehicles from zero to five, depending on the safety provided in case crashes. The test involves subjecting the test vehicle to crashes from multiple sides. Cars are voluntarily being sent by manufacturers and so far, the likes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia and of course, Tata Motors have sent a number of their respective models for the test.

On the result of Safari and Harrier, Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, once again underlined the significance of Bharat NCAP. “Bharat NCAP is India’s independent, atmanirbhar voice on vehicle safety. It is benchmarked to the best-in-class global standards and the Bharat-NCAP vehicle rating system is designed to advance road safety and vehicle safety standards beyond mandatory regulations,” he said. ” I’m delighted that the first ever vehicles being certified today with the highest achievable 5-star rating, are both from Tata Motors. I congratulate them on award of this coveted certification with the highest possible ratings and for continuing to enrich their legacy of introducing the safest vehicles on Indian roads.”

First Published Date: 20 Dec 2023, 20:35 PM IST

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Indian govt panel wants BNCAP crash ratings tied to improved car connectivity

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An Indian government panel has recommended that the automakers who step up connectivity features in their cars to communicate with other vehicles and external systems should score better ratings on Bharat NCAP crash tests, Reuters has reported. The panel has reportedly submitted a draft report, which aims to boost road safety as well as introduce a technical blueprint for the connected cars in India. The Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways would decide the next steps on it, claimed the report.

Connected car
The government panel has proposed the integration of V2X technology in connected cars in India that will help these cars communicate with each other as well as with other systems on the roads including traffic lights.

The proposal by the government panel reflects steps being weighed by the US, China and multiple other countries in Europe. The panel has reportedly proposed the integration of V2X technology in cars to reduce the risk of accidents and traffic congestion as well. With the V2X technology, the connected cars will be able to communicate with other vehicles as well as with other connected systems on the roads, including traffic lights, claimed the report.

The report claims that the 58-page draft proposal has stated that most of the traffic issues in India occur because of non-line-of-sight scenarios. “Most sensors do not work well in these scenarios and V2X fills the gap,” the proposal reportedly added, referring to the connected car technology commonly known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X). The panel reportedly wants the V2X technology to be considered for inclusion in India’s Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (BNCAP) for car safety ratings. This move comes in line with developments abroad. However, the panel didn’t set any deadline for the adoption of its recommendations.

India is known as a country with an alarmingly high number of road accidents, which cause lakhs of deaths and critical injuries to many people every year. If this proposal introduced by the government panel makes it to rule, it could force the automakers to equip the connected cars with technology using the airwaves to send warnings between drivers and communicate with other road systems.

Currently, the Bharat NCAP doesn’t mandate features to be included by car manufacturers, Instead, it assigns star ratings based on the impact of collisions. However, if the proposals by the government panel are to be considered we may see the government mandating the automakers to equip their connected cars with some advanced features.

At present, some cars on Indian roads feature forward collision warning and emergency braking technology. However, mostly these cars use sensors that can be triggered by close proximity. V2X is a more advanced and connected form of this warning technology, as it relies on a dedicated network to issue warnings even kilometres ahead, which enables the driver to be alert well ahead.

First Published Date: 11 Oct 2023, 16:28 PM IST

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