Five Stars, No Less

Almost expectedly, Skoda Auto have stamped their authority on the Indian automotive scene with a full five-star rating in crash safety in the recent GNCAP tests for the Skoda Kushaq

- Jim Gorde

THE GLOBAL NEW CAR ASSESSMENT Program (GNCAP) is the go-to crash safety standard for us in India, and is part of a larger network of automotive safety testing standards under the NCAP umbrella including the Euro NCAP, ASEAN NCAP and Latin NCAP, among others. Now, Skoda have made headlines with the Kushaq SUV reiterating the Czech brand's tank-like build scoring a five-star rating. And this is no mean feat now.

We say Skoda have stamped their authority not only because the Kushaq got five stars-there are a few Indian cars with five-star ratings already-but also because two things make the Kushaq's feat significant.

One, it has got five-star ratings for both adult and child occupant safety, mMaking it the only car in India to do so. Two, it has done this under the GNCAP's newer and more stringent test protocols.

The Global NCAP's updated crash test protocols assess frontal and side impact protection, Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection, and side impact pole protection assessments, each of which are also required for vehicles scoring the highest star ratings.

And this is where the Skoda Kushaq aced the brief, and set new benchmarks.

A tally of 29.64 points out of a maximum possible 34.00 for adult occupant protection and a score of 42.00 points out of a new maximum possible 49.00 in child occupant protection now make it the safest car made in India.