"In response to Euro NCAP's new rating scheme, Suzuki have decided to make electronic stability control an option on all variants of the Alto and standard on some. Sales of ESC as standard equipment are not expected to meet Euro NCAP's requirements for the full three points to be awarded but are sufficient to gain the car an additional point for this area of assessment. A driver's seatbelt reminder system is standard equipment," Euro NCAP said in the results.
Curious enough, a Suzuki spokesman stepped in front of the media representatives and said that a three-star rating is still good enough for such a car but the company will continue its efforts in safety development. “In this segment three stars is a good result and we take safety very seriously," he was quoted as saying by the aforementioned source.
Well, maybe he forgot the Alto got only 23 points for child protection and 10.4 points for driver safety during a frontal impact. Pedestrian safety? Only 13 points, with head protection rated at 9.5 points and leg safety at 3.3 points. Speaking of safety assist, this isn't one of the areas Alto should be proud of as the car has no speed limitation assistance, ESC as optional - it was unavailable before the Euro NCAP tests - while the seatbelt reminder is only available for the driver seat.
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