Honda Amaze scores 2 stars at the GNCAP (Global New Car Assessment Program) in adult occupant protection and a rather disappointing 0 stars in child occupant protection. Amaze is a prominent compact sedan in our market which belongs to the highly competitive segment consisting of cars like the Maruti Dzire, Hyundai Aura and Tata Tigor. The current Amaze was introduced in India back in 2018. Resultantly, the new model is about to arrive soon. Note that this model is being sold in South Africa, which was tested at the GNCAP. I was admittedly surprised by the fact that the Amaze was tested at this stage of its lifecycle.
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Honda Amaze 2-star Rating at GNCAP
Delving deep into the GNCAP report, it becomes clear that the 2 stars in the adult occupant protection category were due to the lack of availability of side head protection, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and seat belt reminders for all occupants. Only the driver gets the seat belt reminder function. This resulted in 27.85 points out of a possible 34. I must mention here that Honda recently announced that its entire lineup now has a seat belt reminder system for all five seats. Had this model been tested, we might have had a different final rating.
In terms of child occupant protection, it was found that in a frontal impact, the head was getting in contact for both dummies. Furthermore, there were high loadings on the chest and neck of the three-year-old. Also, there is an ejection risk for the 18-month-old child dummy. There is also no option of three-point seat belts in all seats or the passenger airbag disconnection switch. Finally, some CRSes encountered an installation failure which resulted in a 0-star rating. All these factors contributed to a disappointing 8.58 points out of 49.
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Honda issued an official statement on this development saying, “The South Africa spec 2nd Generation Amaze has already been tested as 4 star by GNCAP in 2019. The latest test basis new protocol shows that the total score is of 5 star level. However mainly due to requirement of certain equipment like Electronic Stability Control and Side Curtain Airbags, it resulted in lower rating. At Honda, our unwavering commitment to safety is evident in the meticulous engineering of our products, integrating advanced active and passive safety technologies across our entire model range. We are dedicated to continuously work to enhance our vehicles on all parameters of Safety and improve them further at model change timing.”
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Author’s Note
Now we know that Honda had previously scored a 4-star safety rating at the GNCAP back in 2019 for this same model. I feel it is critical to remember a few things here to comprehend this situation. The GNCAP testing standards and protocols have been updated since then. Essentially, they are extremely stringent in their current form. However, the Amaze has not been updated during this time. Hence, the car didn’t get unsafe, but the procedure has changed. That explains two different scores for the same car.
Apart from that, I am certain that the upcoming new model of the Amaze will comply with the updated testing requirements. In any case, that will be a much better and fair result. Hence, I would advise my readers to take this latest result with a grain of salt. Also note that these are among the last few cars to be tested at the Global NCAP. Going forward, Indian cars will feature on the Bharat NCAP.
