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Crash Test: The India-made Toyota Starlet has received a zero-star rating due to its disappointing performance in adult safety in the Global NCAP crash test. This car is essentially a South African version of the Toyota Glanza, which is manufactured in India and exported. However, the car has performed relatively better in terms of child safety.

What was special in the tested model?
The South African-spec Starlet model tested by Global NCAP was manufactured at Maruti Suzuki’s Gujarat plant. This model was provided with two front airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC) as standard. However, important safety features like side and curtain airbags were not provided in it.

Worst performance in adult safety
In terms of adult safety, the car got 0 out of 34 points, due to which it was given a zero-star rating. In the frontal offset crash test, driver head protection was found to be ‘good enough’ and chest protection was found to be ‘adequate’. But the side barrier impact test revealed a risk of serious head and chest injuries.

Child safety got 3-star
The Starlet scored 29.33 out of 49 in child occupant protection and received a 3-star rating. The 18-month-old baby dummy received good protection, but the three-year-old baby’s head collided with the interior of the car during the test. It was not found completely safe even in the side impact test.

The updated model will be tested again
Toyota has told Global NCAP that the South African-spec Starlet has now been updated with additional safety features. Many new safety features including side head airbag, side body airbag have been provided as standard in the new model. Global NCAP has confirmed that the updated model has been purchased and will be crash tested again soon.

The zero-star rating of this car made in India has sparked a new debate regarding vehicle safety standards. Now all eyes are on the upcoming test results of the updated model.