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A safe car for my kids – are airbags important or the car brand?

By Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal on 17 Comments / 11941 views

image courtesy – https://rumors.automobilemag.com/

My kids are driven in my Toyota Corolla that now needs replacement.

The daily distance traveled is 30-50 kms max, all within south mumbai, amidst heavy traffic.

I just went to Hyundai and Honda and found out that:

– There is a Verna with a 6 airbags option. There are 2 airbags in the front and 4 on the sides. This (petrol) version is available for a cost Rs.12 lacs on road – Individual – South Mumbai delivery.

– The Honda City (petrol) comes with with 2 airbags is available for 10 lacs for an individual for South Mumbai delivery. The Honda City does not have additional airbags.

Questions:

– How important are air bags in city travel?

– The Honda guy kept bragging about some G-Con technology that he says makes Honda the ‘safest’ car in the world and that it was the overall car technology that was more important in safety than just airbags. Is that right?

– Are there better options in other cars that I can consider? My budget is 10-12 lacs for this car and I really don’t care about mileage etc.

I’m really not an ‘Auto’ guy – I mean I like cars but am just not motivated or knowledgeable to look up all this data. Hence please help here, assuming that you will already know this etc?

Thanks! 

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17 Comments

  1. Alok, I too am not an expert with Car technology but I know of one incident where one of my friend got saved because of airbags after his car did a somersault on the expressway because of oil spillage.. The chances are one in a lakh, but prevention is better than cure.. Cheers!!

  2. Alok, I’m also not expert on this but recently bought a car and went through lot’s of discussion at different dealers / online etc. I believe both (1) How the car is made and (2) airbags are important.

    i.e. in (1) How many steel roads are used surrounding the doors, the doors are not pushed inside the car and the frames can protect that in case of accident, fire proof layer / dressing between the bonnet and the driver’s cabin, automatic tuning of torque to avoid abrupt stops…etc.

    and  in (2) Airbags – when do they come out, and when they come out, they should not suffocate the passenger and the force with which they come out as they should not cause any damage to the passenger is important.

    Considering this, personally I’ve liked the make and model of Chevrolet pretty much. I suggest just consider Chevrolet Cruze as one option before finalizing the decision! 

    Warm Regards!

  3. Alok,

    For your usage i believe having Airbags should get priority. My reply is based on two assumptions – your children will occupy the back seat and the car wont be part of any high speed, high intensity crashes.

    Whenever a car crashes energy produced needs to dissipate somehow. Therefore cars have crumble zones and structures that help release this energy. Both the cars that you mentioned would be good at doing this. They come from valuable brands and are sold globally.

    Airbags aid the above process in most collisions as they protect occupants from direct impact and things like shattered glass etc.

    Cheers, Vineet

  4. Alok, if you have city drive then airbags is not much important. 

    As per as option is concern these are the best in this segment, including Brand image, features etc but if you see there are few more models in this segment like Volkswagen Vento, Marut SX4 & Ford Fiesta etc.

    Please let me know your final decision then i can help you to get best discount on your new vehicle.

    Reagrds,

    digvijay.pnd@gmail.com

     

  5. Hi Alok,

    Airbags certainly add to the safety element, but do not make a car safe by themselves. Since you have a nice budget, I would suggest you to first consider either a Skoda Rapid or a VW Vento. Both these cars will provide you with easy handling and stability while driving even at higher speeds (please take a test drive and feel it yourself). I consider these as the primary/active criterions that make a car safer (as against airbags which are passive safety features). The third option to consider could be Honda city (for its G-Con technology). Verna could thus take a back seat, as Hyundai don’t produce cars that are high on safety as against their German counterparts (VW Group). Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you seek any additional assistance/amplification. Cheers!!!

  6. A friend of friend bought a new verna.. was driving on a flyover on a foggy day.. truck hit him from behind.. and threw the car off the flyover.

    Car condition was so bad that it was scrapped. BUT THE PASSENGER SURVIVED!

  7. My few cents :

    1. Air bags are activated when there is high impact on the crumple zones. 

    2. These crumple zones are on front or sides depending on how many air bags are there.

    3. If the passengers are going to travel at high speeds say 120kmph + , airbags are extremely essential.

    4. Look for Anti lock braking system ( ABS ). This helps skidding of car when sudden brakes are applied. As long as the wheels keep rolling the driver will be able to steer, thus can minimize collisions. ABS saved life of my family when I was driving at 120 kmph on highway near Hardwar and many drivers on Express way.

    5. Also , all things being same, look for a vehicle with lower CG ( Center of gravity ), the chances of toppling are less.

    6. All said and done no amount of technology and car design can totally rule out safety issues. Investing in sending the driver to a course in ‘Defensive driving’ is a big plus. When in IAF , i used to regularly coach the Air Force drivers in practice of defensive driving and that used to make a lot of difference.

  8. and this was because of the air bags???!!!!

  9. ABS is one feature to check out for .. And coming to Air bags … they’re just needed when you drive the car at high speeds ( 100 / 120+ )

    Also you have other cars within this price range : bit.ly/NeP3S9 ( this is under the 10lakhs range as the other cars are in that range )

    And for overall experience ( safety as well ) and if price is not a problem … The Civic really has what it takes … bit.ly/MGMPQ1 Check the image here … And the site says that this is the same for all the Civics and comes as a default

  10. I dont think *just airbags*

    To survive a crash like that whole design would have helped.

  11. In city driving conditions what is greater consequence than ABS or Airbags is if the rear passengers are wearing seat belts .And as children usually sit behind , this is a habit which we as parents need to inculcate in them. And Seat belts do save people from injuries!

    All modern cars available today have built in crumple zones which protects the passengers in case of serious accidents and many are evenly specd too.Hence it really boils down to personal preferences and the new Elantra is a well specd car to consider , not because it offers airbags.

     

  12. many thanks sir. appreciate the effort u made. thanks again

  13. I think “heavy” cars say European ones are more safe..like the ones from Chevrolet or now Volkswagen..Vento specially is a solid built cars and compared to the Korean parts they seem to be more well built.

    Also Alok, for kids safety, you may also want to look at SUVs like Scorpio, Innova, XYLO, XUV…

    Not a car expert by any stretch! 🙂 

  14. If :

    1.) Mileage is not important

    2.) Buget is 10 – 12 lakhs

    Get any second hand car that is from a superior segment. I suggest Merc.

    I had overheard an entire conversation on my way back in a public transport volvo. The person answering the call was owner of a car showroom and the person who called was much similar to you and had similar concerns.

    The car showroom owner explained to him that air bags are only useful to prevent the passenger from banging himself into glass/car. It is really just a support system. The real savior is the seat belt. If the seatbelt is not latched and the car bangs into something, the air bags are potentially dangerous to your body because of the speed with which they open into your face and are capable of severe damages.

    So, seatbelt always on and heavy metal body ( skoda is one of the safest cars that comes to mind when we talk about car body ) should rid you of your worries.

    If it was me, I’d take a second hand merc 🙂

  15. It never occurs to us Indians that we do have seatbelts in rear seats. First we have to believe that they are of some use. Second, we ve to somehow get the kids to buckle in.

    Since, neither of these seems possible, go for the 6 airbag version. Unless, you can restrict the vehicle to city use only!

    And when it comes to safely of kids, what is a budget? I get ripped off by people on a daily basis on this premise! 🙂

  16. Forget Rear Seat belts, how many of us will make sure even front seat belts are buckled if the law is not enforced????

  17. Alok Ji,

    Dont know much about your conclusion but after reading all of our suggestive friends advises I become more confused as I was earlier. I was also having the same queries and was searching for answer since last 1 month or so.
    I am more confused now….
    Please tell me your conclusion as well…
      

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