India bound cars Chevrolet Beat (Spark to the rest of the world) and the 2010 VW Polo have achieved 4 and 5 stars respectively at the Euro NCAP tests held this week. The polo scored 90% for occupant safety while the Beat could only manage 81%. The presence of Electronic stability control as an option on the Polo increased its score in safety equipment to 71% with 43% for the Chevy. Read on to know about other cars in this class.

VW Polo put up a good overall show. Its passenger cabin remained intact and it even scored maximum points for child safety. It comes with the option of disabling the passenger airbag for rear facing children. The Polo’s bumpers offer good protection for the pedestrian’s legs but the hood was stiff and that let down its points. Euro NCAP say that adults striking the bonnet would not be as fortunate as children who fared better in this test. A seatbelt reminder system for the driver and passenger seats is standard equipment along with optional ESP rounded off with a good score for the Polo. We arent sure if the Indian polo would get ESP.

Like the Polo, the passenger cabin remained intact and the dummies had good protection for head and neck. The Beat scored maximum points in the side barrier impact. Child protection was also top notch. The pedestrian protection is the same story with the Beat too with good bumper protection and poor bonnet protection. What let its score down though were the shapes in the dashboard that posed risk to the knees and the unavailability of ESP even as an option.

Overall, India does get most of the features like ABS and airbags on the top models but stringent action by the government will ensure that they are made mandatory. We leave you with scores of some popular models.

Suzuki Swift – **** (4)

Hyundai i10 – ****  (4)

Skoda Fabia – **** (4)

Maruti Ritz – **** (4)

Hyundai i20 – ***** (5)

Prepared by Wheelosphere with inputs from Euro NCAP

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