South African Renault Kwid Scores 2 Stars In Global NCAP Rating, Safer Than Maruti S-Presso

Published On Dec 04, 2020 01:24 PM By Sonny for Renault KWID

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It gets more dual front airbags as standard but its structural integrity is still rated unstable

South Africa-spec 2020 Renault Kwid scored two stars in both adult and child protection.
It gets dual front airbags and front seatbelt pretensioners as standard, unlike the Indian Kwid.
Kwid rivals the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso which recently scored 0 stars in the same crash tests in its India-spec.
The Kwid in India doesn’t get dual front airbags as standard; it scored 1 star (pre-facelift) when tested multiple times in 2016.

Global NCAP has been busy crash testing various mass market cars to assess their safety rating. While some new cars have failed to meet the minimum safety standards, others have shown progress over time. One such example is the facelifted Renault Kwid, tested in its made-in-India South African market specification, which just scored a 2-star safety rating in the latest Global NCAP crash tests.

While the 2016 India-spec version of the Kwid had scored 1 star, the India-made facelifted model offered in the South African market has shown improvement. The model tested was equipped with dual front airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, and load limiters which are standard across the range. However, the bodyshell and the footwell integrity was rated unstable which is still worrying.

The 2020 Kwid got two stars and a score of 7.87 out of 17 in adult protection as the protection for the driver and front passenger varied between good and adequate for the head, neck and tibias. Driver chest protection was rated poor while knee protection was marginal. The front passenger didn’t fare any better either.

In terms of child safety rating as well, this version of the Kwid scored 19.68 out of 49 for a 2-star rating. It doesn’t come with ISOFIX child seat anchorages and misses out on a 3-point seatbelt for middle occupant. The front-facing child seat for the 3-year old, secured with the seatbelt, showed excessive forward movement during impact with limited protection for the chest and the side of the head. Meanwhile, the rearward-facing child seat for the 18-month old secured with the seatbelt also offered limited protection. Its head made contact with the interior of the car during impact.

The South Africa-spec Renault Kwid 2020 has fared a lot better than its recently tested rival, the Maruti Suzuki S-Presso, which scored 0 stars overall with 0 for adult occupant safety and two for child protection. However, it is worth noting that the India-spec Kwid doesn’t get dual front airbags as standard so it may not fare as well as the South Africa-spec model in the same tests.

The best recorded safety rating for the Renault Kwid was back in 2017 when the Brazil-spec model scored three stars in the Latin NCAP tests. It was equipped with dual front airbags, side airbags and ISOFIX anchorages. We don’t get the side airbags or the ISOFIX anchorages on any variant of the Kwid.

Renault prices the Kwid in India from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5.13 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). It rivals the likes of the Maruti S-Presso and the Datsun redi-GO.