Tata Motors found itself at the extreme ends of the New Car Assessment Program or NCAP crash safety test for two of its vehicles: the Nexon and the Super Ace.


First up, the bad news.

The Super Ace light-duty truck scored a zero-star rating at the ASEAN NCAP. Not equipped with any airbag, ABS, stability control, or even a seatbelt reminder, the Super Ace scored just 19.15 points out of a possible 50. Sifting through the details, the Super Ace scored a zero in the offset frontal test and zero in head protection. Its only score on the board is because of a 10.34-point score in the side impact test.

Now that the bad news is out of the way, here’s some great news.


Tata also made history by being the first Indian automaker to score a perfect 5-star rating at the Global NCAP with its Nexon SUV—a car that’s currently only sold in the Indian market.

David Ward, Global NCAP’s Secretary General said, “This is a huge landmark for car safety in India. Congratulations to Tata Motors for achieving India’s first 5-star rating for adult occupant protection. The Nexon was engineered in India and this shows the huge capability of the domestic industry to achieve excellence in safety design and performance. With the Nexon, Tata have shown the global car industry that to achieve five stars you can ‘Make in India’. Global NCAP is looking forward to many more Indian five star cars and further improvements in both pedestrian protection and crash avoidance.”

The Tata Nexon scored 5 stars for Adult Occupant Protection and 3 stars for Child Occupant Protection. Following the Nexon’s four star result earlier this year Tata has improved a number of safety features including making a Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) for driver and passenger a standard for all variants of the model. In addition, the Nexon was required to pass a side impact test as well.