2024 Suzuki Swift gets a one-star ANCAP safety rating

In Europe, the 2024 Suzuki Swift has received a three-star rating from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).

However, it’s not quite the same for the hatchback in Australia, where it was awarded only a one-star rating by the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) following substandard performance in crash tests conducted by the organisation.

The fourth-generation Swift achieved 47% in the Adult Occupant Protection category, 59% in Child Occupant Protection, 76% in Vulnerable Road User Protection, and 54% in Safety Assist.

According to ANCAP, Suzuki Australia previously stated that the Swift sold in Australia and New Zealand is physically different from the European market counterpart.

“In comparison to the three-star rating achieved by Swift vehicles sold in Europe, vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand performed differently when crash tested.

“The design of some of the structural elements and restraints in locally-sold Swift vehicles appear to lack robustness leading to variation in crash performance,” said Carla Hoorweg, CEO of ANCAP.

The ANCAP report indicated that the performance differences between the Australian/New Zealand Swift and the European model were evident in both frontal offset and full-width crash tests.

The frontal offset crash test demonstrated higher chest loads and leg injury risk for the driver, while the full-width crash test showed and a significantly greater rear passenger chest compression measurement that exceeded allowable limits.

As a result, the Swift received a Poor rating and a score of zero for chest protection, which is a critical body area.

Additionally, Poor scores were also recorded for the head and chest of the child dummies in the head-on and side-impact crash test scenarios. The Child Occupant Protection result of 59% is one of the lowest scores seen to date.

The Suzuki Swift is the latest model to enter the Australasian market with different safety credentials to its European counterpart, following the Honda Civic, CR-V, and ZR-V.