India-made cars – Datsun GO+ and Toyota Etios Liva - have been a part of the five compact and small cars that were tested for their crashworthiness. The latest round of crash test was conducted under the ‘Safer Cars for Africa’ initiative by the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP) and AA South Africa.
The crash test organised by the two agencies conducted frontal crash at speed of 64kmph. The Toyota Etios Liva has earned a four-star rating, while the Datsun Go+ has scored a one-star safety rating. The test reports revealed that the Etios Liva offered good overall protection for adult passengers. Moreover, with Toyota’s recommended child seats, the Etios Liva scored three stars in child safety. Datsun Go+ on the other hand was rated unstable in frontal crash as the steering wheel movement noted high compression to the chest of the driver dummy. As for child occupant safety, the vehicle scored two stars.
Along with dual front airbags as a standard feature, the Toyota Etios Liva also comes with four channel ABS, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, dual front airbags and front seatbelt pretensioners. The Datsun Go+ gets an optional driver airbag and also misses on the ABS as well as ISOFIX child seat mounts. The other three cars from the total five included the VW Polo Vivo, which is South Africa's best-selling car, along with Renault Sandero and the Chery QQ3.
