Suzuki S-Presso hit with three-star Global NCAP rating

Amid recent concerns over safety in its home market of India, Global NCAP, under its #SaferCarsForAfrica campaign, has awarded the ever popular Suzuki S-Presso three stars in its latest valuation.

Fitted with dual front airbags as standard on all models, the S-Presso lost points for what Global NCAP described as an “unstable structure” and for providing “weak driver chest” protection in an accident.

Child safety was judged to be even worse with a two-star rating, thanks to the lack of ISOFIX mounting points.

“The safety performance of the S-Presso in South Africa has been far from satisfactory and claims of improvement are not reflected in levels of child occupant protection which remain the same as the Indian version we tested in 2020,” Global NCAP Secretary General, Alejandro Furas, said.

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“There has been significant progress with vehicle safety in the Indian market with a welcome requirement for the fitment of six airbags as standard. We hope that Maruti Suzuki will not apply a double standard for the vehicles they sell in Africa compared to those sold in India.”

Automobile Association South Africa’s CEO, Willem Groenewald, remarked: “While the adult occupancy result for the S-Presso is encouraging there is room for improvement, especially in relation to the child protection rating.

“The safety of motorists in South Africa is critical and we welcome the visible efforts by manufacturers in this regard and urge them to continue investing in this important facet of their production.”

One of South Africa’s cheapest new cars with pricing from R156,900 for the entry-level GL to R184,900 for the S-Edition fitted with the five-speed automated manual transmission, the S-Presso also comes as standard with ABS and EBD, both not offered on the cheapest model sold in India.