Suzuki Swift gets 5 star JNCAP safety rating

The third generation Suzuki Swift was recently put to a crash test by the Japanese New Car Safety Assessment Program, known as J-NCAP. J-NCAP has given the new Swift a safety rating of 5 stars, which indicates that the car sold in Japan is a very safe car. However, it must be noted that this rating is valid only for the Japan domestic model (JDM) of the Suzuki Swift, and is not applicable to the made-in-India Swift. The Japan-spec Swift gets a number of additional safety features compared to the one that Maruti Suzuki builds and sells in the Indian market. The JDM Swift scored 87.8 points in occupant protection and 78.87 points in pedestrian protection.

For example, the Swift that is sold in Japan features 6 airbags and ABS+EBD as standard across all variants. ESP and Dual Sensor Brake Support (DSBS) collision-mitigation system are also standard on the JDM spec Swift. Other safety features offered on the car are Hill Hold Assist, around view monitor, lane departure warning, weaving alert, adaptive cruise control, high-beam assist and disc brakes on all four wheels. In contrast, the Swift sold in India gets only ABS, disc brakes on front wheels and twin airbags as standard across the range. Parking sensors and a reverse parking camera are available on specific variants.

While the Swift sold in Japan is available only with petrol and petrol-hybrid engines, the one sold in India gets petrol and diesel options. The petrol engine on the India-spec Swift is a 1.2 litre K-Series, naturally aspirated unit with 82 Bhp-113 Nm on tap. The diesel engine is a 1.3 litre, turbocharged unit with 74 Bhp-190 Nm. Both the petrol and diesel engines of the Swift get 5 speed manual and automated manual (AMT) gearboxes. The Swift sold in India starts from under Rs. 5 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. The Swift was India’s largest selling hatchback last year, clocking over 20,000 units in monthly sales.