Maruti Suzuki S-Presso Gets More Safety Features As Standard In South Africa Than India

The S-Presso’s poor safety credentials could easily be improved by offering a few more features as standard

• India-spec Maruti Suzuki S-Presso scored zero stars in Global NCAP crash test. 

• It only gets a driver-side airbag as standard with ABS.

• South African Suzuki S-Presso also gets a front passenger airbag, front seatbelts with pretensioners, and load limiters as standard.

• Maruti offers these safety features as an option for a slight premium over the standard variant.

• This small feature addition would only slightly improve the S-Presso’s cabin safety as the car itself scored poorly for bodyshell integrity.

• It rivals the Renault Kwid which also fares poorly in crash test safety.

Maruti recently came under fire for the S-Presso micro-SUV which scored a worrying zero stars in the Global NCAP crash safety tests. In response, the carmaker said the car is well equipped to meet the local regulations and safety requirements but it wouldn’t offer much comfort to those who take this matter seriously. Now, Suzuki South Africa has stated that their standard version of the S-Presso offers better safety than the India-spec model.

In India, Maruti offers the S-Presso with only a driver-side airbag as standard. Buyers have to opt for the Optional version of each variant to get the front passenger airbag and seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters for the front occupants. However, the South African model gets these as standard which does make it slightly safer.

Global NCAP is yet to test the South African Suzuki S-Presso to provide an exact score for the added safety features. It is important to note that this simple feature addition would not drastically improve the S-Presso’s safety as it also scored poorly in terms of bodyshell integrity which would be the same across both markets.

The S-Presso’s woeful score was a dire contrast to other, newer made-in-India models that were scoring much better. Some models even secured a five-star safety rating in the same crash tests. You can find out about these cars and how they fared in the Global NCAP tests in our detailed story here. 

Maruti retails the S-Presso between Rs 3.71 lakh and Rs 5.14 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The premium for the optional safety features over the standard variant is only Rs 6,000. This premium could easily be added to the regular variants to offer better safety as standard. This budget-friendly model is a direct rival to the Renault Kwid which also scored zero stars in the ASEAN NCAP crash tests in 2018. We hope Maruti and all other carmakers will continue to improve the safety standards of their cars and go beyond the local regulations which may not result in sufficient passenger protection.

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