The Suzuki Baleno exported to Europe has garnered a 3-star Euro-NCAP crash safety rating. The Baleno equipped with ABS, EBD and twin airbags scored an 80 per cent rating for adult occupancy safety. It scored 65 per cent for pedestrian safety as well. This is relevant to India, as all the other figures – child occupant safety, and the optional safety pack-equipped Baleno that garnered four stars, don’t have the necessary features on sale in the Indian market.
The Indian market has yet to make ISOFIX child seat anchor points a legal requirement, so very few models in the sub-10-lakh rupee range are equipped with them. The optional safety pack for the Euro-spec Baleno includes radar-enabled brakes, which would make the Indian version too pricey to be competitive. The safety rating for the India-spec Baleno would therefore be different; then again, the requirements for Global NCAP and Asia NCAP are different as well. We hope to find out eventually how the India-spec Baleno fares in the relevant crash tests.
