The Brazilian-spec Renault Captur comes with a host of advanced safety features as standard like - 4 airbags (2 frontal and 2 side thorax-head type) and electronic stability control (ESC). The Latin NCAP report also says that the three-point seatbelts, which come with pretensioners, also showed to be of great assistance during both front and side collision, and was largely aided by the strong body structure of the compact crossover. During front impact test, the Captur offered good head and neck protection to both the driver and passenger, while the driver chest and knee protection were rated as marginal and adequate respectively.
Renault Captur scored 4 stars in adult occupant protection and 3 stars for child occupant protection
Similarly, in terms of child safety, the Renault Captur comes with features like ISOFIX mounts with anchorage for child seats and a passenger airbag disabling switch, for those who use rearward-facing child seats in the front seat. The NCAP report also mentions that even when the child seat was restrained by just the seatbelt, the child occupant protection was good for both front and side impact.
Commenting on the Renault Captur's performance, Alejandro Furas, Secretary General of Latin NCAP said, "The Captur shows the potential of local industry to produce and offer safer cars that exceed governmental requirements and that perform good with today's tougher protocol. Renault should be proud to show their consumers the crash test result of the Captur. We encourage Renault and other manufacturers to keep improving their model ranges to achieve four and five stars".
While it is good to see the Renault has started taking occupant safety seriously, none of its products sold in India offer such advanced protection. While recently the India-spec Renault Duster scored a zero star rating in the Global NCAP crash test, last year the top-selling Renault Kwid also scored a disappointing 1 Star in the Global NCAP crash test, which was after the company made safety additions. Considering this and also Michael Bloomberg's eye-opening report on 'why India should worry about the cars it buys,' we sure hope that Renault offers better safety feature at least with the India-bound Renault Kaptur.
