Maruti Jimny Safety Rating – What To Expect?

In this post, we shall evaluate the Maruti Jimny safety rating based on the previous test of the 3-door model. Jimny is among the most well-known lightweight off-roading SUVs on the planet. It has a rich heritage of over 5 decades. It was first used as a military vehicle during World War ll. Soon thereafter, it was offered for the masses, commencing the legend of the Jimny. Over the decades, there were upgrades to make it more user-friendly rather than a rugged machine designed for military personnel. Today, we find the Jimny in its fourth-generation avatar. Also, it was for the first time in its history, that the Jimny was created in a more practical 5-door guise. The Indian market became the first country to receive it. For now, let us take a look at the details of what to expect in terms of its safety ratings.

Maruti Jimny Safety Rating

Now, the current version of the Maruti Jimny is available in the 5-door avatar in India. In fact, Suzuki is even exporting it from India to many parts of the world. However, it has not appeared on any NCAP test yet. Still, its 3-door version underwent the stringent Euro NCAP test back in 2018. It bagged a decent 3-star rating. Note that the 5-door Jimny is simply an extension of the 3-door version. There are not too many fundamental differences between the two. Therefore, there are high chances that even the 5-door trim could offer high safety ratings in times to come. On the other hand, I must also mention that even the testing protocols have become strict in recent times. Hence, it would be interesting to see how things pan out.

Adult Occupant Protection (AOP)

At the Euro NCAP, the Suzuki Jimny scored 27.9 points out of a possible 38 in the AOP category. This translates to a good 73%. The test included four sections – Frontal Offset Deformative Barrier Test, Frontal Full Width Test, Whiplash Rear Impact Test and Lateral Impact Test. In each of these categories, Jimny was able to secure 4.6 / 8 points, 5.8 / 8 points, 1.6 / 2 points and 16 / 16 points, respectively. For the AEB city category, Jimny secured a disappointing 0 points out of 4. In the frontal offset test, the head of the driver would get in contact with the steering wheel. The score for the head was penalized for the behaviour of the airbag and the displacement of the steering wheel, and protection for this part of the body was rated as marginal.

Furthermore, the passenger compartment was extensively deformed in the offset test. Although dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs of both driver and passenger, structures in the instrument panel and dashboard were thought to pose a risk of injury to occupants of different sizes, and protection was rated as marginal. In the full-width, rigid-barrier impact protection of the head of the rear passenger dummy was rated as weak, based on dummy readings during the test and protection of the chest of both driver and rear passenger was marginal. The AEB system performed well in the test but the Jimny didn’t qualify for these points since Euro NCAP requires good head restraint performance as a pre-requisite for AEB points.

Child Occupant Protection (COP)

In the COP category, Jimny secured a total of 41.4 points out of 49 which means 84%. In the Frontal Impact Test, the SUV secured 15.4 points out of 16, while in the Lateral Impact test, it received a full 8 out of 8 points. Unfortunately, in the safety features section, the Suzuki Jimny was just able to bag 6 points out of 13. This was due to the fact that the lightweight off-roader didn’t offer an integrated CRS (Child Restraint System). To secure the child seat, you can get i-Size or ISOFIX anchorages.

In the frontal offset test, protection of all critical body areas was good except for the necks of both dummies, the protection of which was rated as adequate. These dummies are designed for a 6-year-old child and a 10-year-old child. Thereafter, in the side barrier test, the protection of both dummies was good for all critical parts of the body. More importantly, the front passenger airbag can be disabled to allow a rearward-facing child restraint to be used in that seating position. All restraint types for which the Jimny is designed could be properly installed and accommodated.

Maruti Jimny Safety Rating – Vulnerable Road Users and Safety Assist

In the Vulnerable Road Users section, the Suzuki Jimny secured just 25.1 points out of 48. This translates to a mere 52%. During the pedestrian collision, the head impact got 14.4 points, the pelvis impact received 3.9 points and the leg impact just bagged 6 points. This totals to 24.3 out of 36 points. In terms of the Vulnerable Road Users, the lightweight SUV just got an abysmal 0.8 points out of 12. The bonnet provided predominantly good or adequate protection to the head of a struck pedestrian, with poor results recorded at the front of the bonnet and on the stiff windscreen pillars.

In the Safety Assist category, Jimny brought home 50% points – 6.5 points out of 13. This included 1.3 points out of 3 in Speed Assistance, 3 out of 3 in Seatbelt Reminder, 0.3 points out of 4 in Lane Support, and 2 points out of 3 in AEB Inter-Urban domain. It has seatbelt reminder for front and rear seats as standard. The AEB performed adequately in tests at high speeds. It gets the Lane Departure Warning as standard but not Lane Keep Assistance.

Safety Features

While these scores are valid for the 3-door Jimny, the 5-door version in India comes with tons of modern-day safety amenities. That can boost the overall safety prowess of the SUV even further. But as I mentioned previously, the testing procedure has also become quite strict. Therefore, it would be interesting to see how well Jimny scores on the Bharat NCAP test. For now, let us glance at the safety equipment on offer:

• 6 Airbags
• ABS with EBD
• Electronic Stability Program
• Hill Hold Control
• Hill Descent Control
• Brake Assist
• Rear View Camera
• Brake Limited Slip Differential
• Side Impact Door Beams
• Seatbelt Pre-tensioner/Force Limiter (Front)
• ISOFIX Child Seat Anchorages
• 3-point Emergency Locking Retractor Seatbelts
• Engine Immobilizer

Our View

Maruti Jimny is a famous off-roader in the Indian automobile market which rivals the mighty Mahindra Thar. It boasts immense off-roading capabilities which allow the occupants to travel to just about any location in the country. However, Maruti Suzuki suffers from a questionable image when it comes to safety ratings and crash tests. I have to say that the Jimny is still one of the better cars when it comes to safety rating in comparison to some other cars in the lineup. Going by the results of this old Euro NCAP test, the performance was quite decent. It remains to be seen whether the 5-door iteration is able to replicate that performance with the latest crash test norms in times to come.

FAQs

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