Made-In-India Nissan Magnite Scores A 5-star Safety Rating In Its Global NCAP Crash Tests For South Africa

The Made-in-India Nissan Magnite has been tested by Global NCAP for the South African market and has earned a 5-star safety rating. Interestingly, the Magnite did not achieve this rating in its first crash test. It took two additional rounds of testing to reach the 5-star mark. Here is a detailed look at the Global NCAP scores and results for the Nissan Magnite across all three tests, covering both Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and Child Occupant Protection (COP).

Now let us take a detailed look at how the Nissan Magnite performed in the 3 tests:

Test 1 with 2 airbags and no ESC

Frontal Offset Deformable Barrier Test: 10.036 points

Side Movable Deformable Barrier Test: 14.454 points

Side pole impact test: Not conducted

In the frontal offset deformable crash test, the driver’s chest showed ‘weak’ protection, while the passenger’s chest got ‘good’ protection. Head and neck protection was ‘good’ for both occupants. The driver’s and passenger’s left thighs showed ‘marginal’ protection. The driver’s right thigh was also rated ‘marginal’, while for the co-driver it was ‘good’. That said, the tibias of both occupants and the driver’s feet had ‘adequate’ protection. The footwell and bodyshell were rated as ‘stable’, but some uneven reinforcement in the structure led to a minor penalty.

In the side impact test, protection for the head, abdomen, and pelvis was ‘good’, while the chest got ‘adequate’ protection. Global NCAP could not conduct the side pole impact test as the tested model did not have curtain airbags.

Child Occupant Protection Dynamic Score: 14.59 / 24 points

CRS Installation Score: 3.80 / 12 points

Vehicle Assessment Score: 0 / 13 points

 In the frontal crash test, the Magnite scored 6.02 out of 8 points for protection offered to the 18-month-old dummy, while the score for the 3-year-old dummy was much lower at 0.57 out of 8 points. In the side impact test, the Magnite performed well for both age groups, scoring a full 4 out of 4 points for each dummy.

Test 2 with 6 airbags and ESC as standard

Frontal offset deformable barrier test: 10.51 points

Side movable deformable barrier test: 16 points

Side pole impact test: OK

In the frontal crash test, the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck received ‘good’ protection. The driver’s chest showed ‘weak’ protection, while the passenger’s chest had ‘adequate’ protection. Both the driver’s and passenger’s knees showed ‘marginal’ protection due to the risk of contact with hard parts behind the dashboard. Protection to the tibias of both front passengers was ‘adequate’. The footwell area and bodyshell were rated ‘stable’ and capable of handling more crash forces.

In the side movable deformable barrier test, the Magnite offered ‘good’ protection to all parts of the occupant. In the side pole impact test, the occupant’s chest received ‘adequate’ protection, while all other parts received ‘good’ safety.

Child Occupant Protection Dynamic Score: 20 / 24 points

CRS Installation Score: 12 / 12 points

Vehicle Assessment Score: 4 / 13 points

In the child occupant protection tests, both the 3-year-old and 18-month-old dummies scored full points in their frontal and side crash tests.

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Test 3 with an even improved safety

Frontal offset deformable barrier test: 15.307 points

Side movable deformable barrier test: 16 points

Side pole impact test: OK

In the last and final test, both the driver’s and passenger’s head and neck received ‘good’ protection. The driver’s chest also showed ‘good’ protection, while the passenger’s chest had ‘adequate’ protection. The knees of both occupants got ‘good’ protection, and their tibias showed ‘adequate’ protection. The footwell area and bodyshell were rated ‘stable’ and capable of withstanding more crash force.

In the side crash tests, it performed similar to the model crash tested in the 2nd test. 

Child Occupant Protection Dynamic Score: 15.64 / 24 points

CRS Installation Score: 12 / 12 points

Vehicle Assessment Score: 6 / 13 points

Both the 18-month-old and 3-year-old dummies lost points in the frontal crash test, where they scored 7.64 out of 8 and 4 out of 8 points, respectively.

In the side crash test, however, both dummies managed a full score.

Key Differences In Results Of Test 2 And 3

In Test 3, the Nissan Magnite showed clear improvements in adult occupant protection compared to Test 2. While the results of the side crash test were similar, it was the frontal offset deformable crash test where the Magnite used in Test 3 improved on the one in Test 2. The driver’s chest protection improved from 'weak' to 'good', and knee protection for both the driver and passenger improved from 'marginal' to 'good'. Head and neck protection for both front occupants remained 'good' in both tests, while the passenger’s chest protection stayed at 'adequate'. Tibia protection continued to be rated as 'adequate' for both. All of this resulted in the Magnite earning a full 5-star safety rating in its AOP tests.

Also, the footwell area and bodyshell were rated 'stable' in both tests, showing consistent structural integrity.

The difference in child occupant protection was also noticeable. In Test 3, both dummies lost points in the frontal crash test, while in Test 2, both had scored full marks. In the side impact test, both dummies got similar results in Tests 2 and 3. This difference resulted in a lower 3-star COP safety rating in the final test compared to 4 stars in the 2nd test.

Safety Features On Offer

In terms of safety, the Nissan Magnite comes with 6 airbags as standard, a 360-degree camera with blind spot monitor, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), hill-start assist, electronic stability control (ESC), and ISOFIX child seat mounts.

Price And Rivals

Prices of the Nissan Magnite in India range between Rs 6.14 lakh and Rs 11.76 lakh (ex-showroom, pan-India). It locks horns with subcompact SUVs like the Renault Kiger, Skoda Kylaq, Hyundai Venue, Kia Sonet, Kia Syros, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV 3XO and Maruti Brezza.

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