Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia are now officially considered to be the safest sedans in India for both adults and children. They received the highest safety rating of 5 stars from Global NCAP, which means they are among the safest cars you can buy in India.
Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia Global NCAP Crash Test
Volkswagen Virtus and Skoda Slavia did really well in the adult occupant protection tests, scoring 29.71 out of 34 points. This score was just a little bit better than their SUV counterparts, by only 0.07 points. The testers thought the protection for the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck was good, but their chest protection was only adequate.
When they tested the sedans using new protocols, they found that in the side impact test with a deformable barrier, the Slavia and Virtus provided adequate protection to the occupants, scoring 14.2 out of 17 possible points. Both sedans received an ‘OK’ rating in the side pole impact tests, but the chest protection was only marginal.
When they tested the sedans using a side barrier impact test, they found that the pelvis area had good protection, while the head, chest, and abdomen area were only adequately protected. In this test, the car doesn’t move and a barrier comes at it from the side at a speed of 50 km/h. During the side pole impact test, the sedans did well in protecting the head, neck, and pelvis area, but the chest protection was only marginal.
The bodyshell of the sedans was found to be stable and the footwell could handle more load than the crash test speed of 64 km/h. They used the base models for the frontal and side crash tests, but the top-end model was used for the side pole impact test, just like with all the other cars.
Both cars have 3 point seatbelts for all seats, which is good. However, they don’t have the option to turn off the front passenger airbag if you’re using a rear facing child seat in that seat.
Global NCAP has new protocols for rating car safety. For a car to get a 5 star rating under the new protocols, it must score well in different areas like side impact, pedestrian protection, and have electronic stability control and seat belt reminders.
It’s hard to compare cars tested under the old protocols to cars tested under the new ones because the new protocols take more things into account. In the old protocols, only front crash tests were considered, but now the rating also includes side impact and active safety like ESC, which helps prevent accidents. So, a 5 star rating now means the car is safer overall, not just in one type of crash.