- More stringent ANCAP protocol
- ADAS mandatory in ANCAP, optional in BNCAP
The Maruti Suzuki e Vitara scored five stars in Bharat NCAP, and the same Made-in-India model, which is exported to Australia, scored four stars, all for the same material used. This article explains the lower score, delving into not just the hows, but the whys. Before reading further, do note that ANCAP and Euro NCAP evaluate cars similarly, hence some results, like this one, are mutually shared (Euro NCAP stickers on ANCAP-tested e Vitara).
Let’s start with AOP (Adult Occupant Protection) tests. Bharat NCAP incorporates front offset deformable barrier and side movable deformable barrier tests. In contrast, ANCAP incoporates frontal offset, oblique pole, full-width frontal, whiplash protection, side impact, and rescue and extrication tests. The number of parameters is simply higher in ANCAP.
Coming to COP (Child Occupant Protection), Bharat NCAP assesses front and side dynamic CRS (Child Restraint System) installation scores for 18-month-old and three-year-old dummies, and ANCAP, in addition to these tests, bundles these tests with on-board safety feature assessment like CPDs (Child Presence Detection systems). Furthermore, ANCAP also tests COP parameters using six- and ten-year-old dummies. Both NCAPs are pretty close in this assessment, with ANCAP going the extra mile.
Major misses in current BNCAP protocol
VRU (Vulnerable Road Users): This is present in ANCAP, and it assesses the quantum of damage inflicted to the crash victim. It evaluates head protection for adults, children, and cyclists, protection for pelvis, femur, and knee and tibia, and ADAS features like AEB for VRUs, which includes AEB (forward), AEB pedestrian (backover), AEB cyclist, AEB motorcycle, and LSS (Lane Support Systems) motorcycle.
AEB reverse is where the e Vitara failed in Australasian NCAP tests, since a rear anti-collision mechanism is simply not present. Bharat NCAP does not evaluate this.
Safety Assist (SA): The Suzuki e Vitara (Aus-spec) is evaluated on the basis of seatbelt reminders, driver monitoring, speed assist systems, AEB/AES (car to car, junction and crossing, and head-on), and LSS. The e Vitara scored 0/2 in driver monitoring, since it is not equipped with requisite sensors.
Consensus
Both Bharat NCAP and ANCAP are stringent protocols, and having a crash test protocol is better than not having one. However, Bharat NCAP is not as stringent. To top it off, BNCAP tests are voluntary, wherein a manufacturer sends the car, and in case of ANCAP, most of these cars are purchased.
Bharat NCAP is a protocol that measures how a car survives a crash, and ANCAP is a protocol that evaluates how a crash has to be prevented. This is why you will find ANCAP strictly evaluating ADAS, whereas having or not having ADAS in Bharat NCAP, much like Global NCAP, does not make a difference in the final outcome.
