Maruti e Vitara vs Mahindra BE 6: Which Electric Compact SUV Is Safer?
Both electric SUVs get a 5-star rating from Bharat NCAP, but the result sheet of both SUVs gives you a closer look at finer scores
The Maruti e Vitara was recently crash tested by the Bharat NCAP and it performed exceptionally well, so much so that it has become the safest car built by Maruti till date. When we think of some of the safest cars (based on their performance in the Bharat NCAP tests), we cannot omit the Mahindra BE 6, which is a similarly sized rival to the Maruti e Vitara. In this story, let’s go through their Bharat NCAP scores side by side to see which is the safest offering of the lot between the Maruti e Vitara and the Mahindra BE 6.
Bharat NCAP Crash Test Ratings And Scores Compared
Here are the Bharat NCAP ratings and scores of both the e Vitara and the BE 6 electric SUVs:
| Parameters |
Maruti e Vitara |
Mahindra BE 6 |
| Adult safety rating |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) Score |
31.49/ 32 points |
31.97/ 32 points |
| Frontal Offset Deformable Barrier Test score |
15.49/ 16 points |
15.97/ 16 points |
| Side Movable Deformable Barrier Test score |
16/ 16 points |
16/ 16 points |
| Side pole impact test (Pole) |
OK |
OK |
| Child safety rating |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
| Child Occupant Protection (COP) score |
43/ 49 points |
45/ 49 points |
| Child safety dynamic score |
24/ 24 points |
24/ 24 points |
| CRS Installation score |
12/ 12 points |
12/ 12 points |
| Vehicle assessment score |
7/ 13 points |
9/ 13 points |
Maruti e Vitara Bharat NCAP Crash Test Results
The Maruti e Vitara offered ‘good’ protection to the driver’s head, neck, pelvis, thighs, and feet. That said, the protection provided to the chest and tibias was labelled as ‘adequate’.
The electric SUV offered ‘good’ protection in the frontal offset deformable barrier test to all critical parts of the co-driver. When it comes to the side pole impact test and side movable deformable barrier tests, all parts of the occupants, including the head, chest, abdomen and pelvis, received ‘good’ protection.
If you were to consider the results of the COP tests with the 18-month-old and 3-year-old dummies, Maruti’s first-ever all-electric SUV obtained a full 8 out of 8 points and 4 out of 4 points in frontal and side crash tests, respectively.
The made-in-India e Vitara was also crash tested by the much stricter Euro NCAP where it secured a slightly lower score compared to Bharat NCAP.
Mahindra BE 6 Bharat NCAP Crash Test Results
In the case of the BE 6, the driver’s head, neck, pelvis, thighs, feet, and left tibia got ‘good’ protection in the frontal offset deformable barrier test, while the protection to the right tibia was ‘adequate’. For the front co-driver, the BE 6 provided ‘good’ protection to all the above-mentioned portions.
As far as the side impact test goes, the driver received ‘good’ protection to the head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis in the Mahindra electric SUV. In the side pole impact test, the results were the same as in the side impact test.
The child seats on the Mahindra EV were installed facing rearward using the ISOFIX child seat anchorages. For the 3-year-old, it got 8 out of 8 points and 4 out of 4 points in the dynamic score. On the other hand, the 18-month-old dummy’s dynamic score was 8 out of 8 points and 4 out of 4 points.
Takeaways
The Mahindra BE 6, in the frontal deformable barrier test, offers higher safety scores to both the driver and co-driver, ranging from ‘good’ to ‘adequate’ protection. That said, both the SUVs here provided ‘good’ protection to almost all parts of the two adult occupants in the vehicles.
When it comes to child occupant protection, both the electric SUVs scored full points in the dynamic scores for both the 3-year-old and 18-month-old dummies. However, the BE 6 got a higher vehicle assessment score, which is the reason for its better score in child occupant protection than the Maruti e Vitara.
Safety Features On Board
Common safety features across the Maruti and Mahindra offerings include up to seven airbags, electronic stability programme (ESP), ISOFIX child seat anchorages, 3-point seatbelts for all passengers, a 360-degree camera, and Level-2 advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).
Our detailed variant-wise features story of the e Vitara will help you shortlist the most suitable variant for your needs. If you are someone who is more of a thrill seeker and are looking to stand apart from the relatively mainstream EV offerings, you can check out the newly launched Mahindra BE 6 Formula E Edition.
Price And Rivals
Maruti has not revealed the prices of the e Vitara yet but we expect it to cost between Rs 17 lakh and Rs 22 lakh. Apart from the Mahindra BE 6, the Maruti e Vitara also takes on the Hyundai Creta Electric, MG ZS EV, and Tata Curvv EV. We have already compared the e Vitara’s dimensions with its rivals to give you a perspective of how it stands out in the crowd.
The Mahindra BE 6, on the other hand, is priced in the range of Rs 18.90 lakh to Rs 27.65 lakh (ex-showroom). It competes with the Maruti EV as well as the same other electric offerings mentioned above.