As of right now, the Mahindra Scorpio lacks both lane support and autonomous emergency braking. The primary cause of the SUV’s poor ANCAP performance is the lack of these two safety elements.
The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) has severely failed Mahindra & Mahindra’s Scorpio-N, awarding it a zero-star safety rating.
The Mahindra Scorpio is known as the Mahindra Scorpio-N in Australia and New Zealand.
ANCAP analyzes cars marketed in Australia and New Zealand to determine how well vehicles with safety features and technology fare in collisions. A published star rating then indicates the relative safety performance.
For comparison, the Global New Car Assessment Program (GNCAP) awarded the same Mahindra Scorpio a five-star safety rating in the adult occupant protection category. The evaluation was completed in accordance with the updated crash test procedures that took effect on July 1, 2022.
GNCAP’s “Safer Cars For India” campaign and the ANCAP’s testing procedures for cars in Australia and New Zealand have differing safety feature standards. The disparate evaluations for the same car result from this.
April 2023 saw the launch of the Mahindra Scorpio in Australia, and August 2023 saw it launch in New Zealand. The SUV’s ANCAP safety rating is applicable to all models.
According to ANCAP, the Scorpio is available as a six-seat car in Australia, however a seven-seat model is also sold in New Zealand.
“At Mahindra, our dedication to delivering SUVs that are safe, authentic, and reliable is unwavering,” the SUV manufacturer stated in an official statement. The Scorpio-N, which became the first body-on-frame SUV in India to receive a 5-star safety certification under the new Global NCAP crash test regulations, which go into effect on July 1, 2022, is a perfect illustration of this devotion. This noteworthy accomplishment demonstrates our dedication to safety and the defense it provides for Scorpio-N passengers. The remarkable way the Scorpio-N performed in these demanding testing shows how well-built its structure is and how well its built-in safety mechanisms work.”
The need for special safety elements is one of the ANCAP’s unique requirements, which was amended on January 1, 2023. As part of our mid-cycle product update, we at Mahindra are dedicated to fulfilling these specific safety laws and requirements for Australia, as part of our commitment to safety,” the company stated.
The Mahindra Scorpio’s ANCAP assessment results across many categories are shown below.
Protection for adult occupants: 17.67 out of 40 (44%)
Protection for child occupants: 39.27 out of 49 (80%)
Protection of vulnerable road users: 14.94 out of 63 (23%)
Help with safety: 0.00 out of 18 (0%).
Dual frontal, side chest-protecting, and side head-protecting (first and second rows only) airbags are standard equipment on the Mahindra Scorpio. The third-row passengers are not covered by the side head-protecting airbags. There isn’t a center airbag to stop occupants from interacting with one another, according to ANCAP.
The center second-row seat of the seven-seat Scorpio offered in New Zealand has a lap-only seatbelt installed. The ANCAP stated, “A lap-only seatbelt does not offer the same level of protection as a lap-sash (three-point) seatbelt,” and therefore does not advise occupants of any size to use lap-only seatbelts.
There is no automatic emergency braking system on the Mahindra Scorpio. Additionally, there is no lane support system. These are the main explanations for the SUV’s zero safety assist point rating.
Additionally, a seatbelt reminder device is installed as standard equipment exclusively for front seating positions. There are no seats available in the second or third rows for it.
According to ANCAP, the SUV lacks a child presence detection system, a speed limit information function, and a driver monitoring system. Top tether anchorages are not placed in the third-row seating positions of any variant or in the center seating position in the second row of seven-seat models. Installing child restraints in these seating configurations is not recommended,” the document said.
According to ANCAP, small children should not be transported in this vehicle in these seating arrangements.