The MG 5 and Mahindra Scorpio have managed to join an exclusive club – they’re only the second and third vehicles ever to earn the illustrious zero-star safety rating after their not-so-glorious performance in testing by the Australasian New-Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).
Both cars were criticized “due to the fundamental omission of safety features that have been commonplace in new cars for many years,” with the chief executive of ANCAP, Carla Hoorweg stating, “both brands have misjudged the safety expectations of today’s consumers.” So, what went so wrong?
Read: Mahindra Scorpio Classic Debuts In India, Updating A 20-Year-Old Design
For starters, the MG 5 received Poor ratings that measure injury risk for the chest and legs of the driver in the frontal offset test as well as Poor ratings for the chest and legs of the rear passenger in the full-width frontal test. The car was also hit with penalties for chest deflection and seatbelt loading that exceeded injury limits, as well as hazards behind the dashboard structure.
In addition, loading on the head and neck of child dummies was found to be “significantly higher than seen in most current generation vehicles.” Weak results were seen for three of the four dummies across frontal and side-impact tests and the base Vibe variant is not fitted with seatbelt pre-tensioners and load limiters at either the front or rear while the mid-range Essence lacks them at the rear. Additionally, the MG 5 is not offered with a center airbag, does not have lane support or blind spot monitoring, has limited or no available autonomous emergency braking, nor does it have a system to monitor driver alertness or alert them to the presence of a child in the rear.
As for the Mahindra Scorpio, it received a mix of Good, Acceptable, Marginal, Weak, and Poor protection for adult occupants in the frontal offset, full-width frontal, side-impact and oblique pole crash tests. It was also found to lack top tether child restraint points in the third row, does not offer a center airbag in the front row, and in a side impact test, the driver’s seatbelt was even seen unlatching.
Particularly shocking is the fact that in New Zealand, a seven-seat version of the Scorpio is sold where there is only a lap belt in the center seat of the second row.
“The MG 5 and Mahindra Scorpio were released into the Australasian market for the first time this year, yet it’s clear that their safety offerings are some generations behind what we see with almost every new car on sale today,” said Hoorweg. “This is a stark reminder that not all cars offer the same level of safety – even when they’re brand new models.”
