Made in India Suzuki Baleno premium hatchback has received three stars rating in a crash test conducted by safety watchdog Euro Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP). According to Euro NCAP, the Baleno with standard safety equipment got three stars in the test and the model with optional safety pack called "Radar Brake Support" scored 4 stars.
According to Euro NCAP, three stars is "average to good occupant protection but lacking crash avoidance technology." The Euro NCAP reports says, in the frontal offset set, the standard variant of the Baleno's passenger compartment remained stable and "dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both the driver and passenger." In the crash test with adult occupant, the side barrier test showed good protection but the "score for the head was penalised as the side curtain airbag was deemed not to have deployed in the correct manner in the side pole test."
On the other hand, the Baleno with optional safety pack scored four stars rating, which is according to Euro NCAP is "Overall good performance in crash protection; additional crash avoidance technology may be present."
According to Euro NCAP, "in the full-width rigid barrier impact, protection of the driver was rated as good except for the chest, protection of which was adequate. Dummy readings of chest compression indicated marginal protection for this part of the body but good or adequate protection elsewhere."
Launched in October in India, the made-in-India Baleno will be exported to over 100 countries from India. In addition to Europe, it will be introduced in Latin American countries, such as Chile, Paraguay and Colombia.
