The Nissan Magnite compact SUV has scored a full 5-star rating in the Global NCAP car crashworthiness test. The Magnite is produced in Nissan’s India plant for the domestic market and overseas markets like South Africa. While compact SUVs are some of the hottest-selling cars, the Nissan Magnite has not been a success and sells in unimpressive numbers. Now with a 5-star Global NCAP rating for adult protection and a 3-star Global NCAP rating for child protection, the Japanese compact SUV is expected to get a considerable boost in its sales. Here is a closer look at how well the Nissan Magnite performed in the Global NCAP safety test.
Nissan Magnite: Adult Occupant Protection
32.31 out of 34 in AOP
In the frontal offset deformable barrier test, the Nissan Magnite offered driver’s and front passenger’s heads, necks, and thighs, while the protection offered to the driver’s and front passenger’s tibias and front passenger’s chest was reported to be adequate. The body shell was rated as stable, and it is capable of withstanding further loadings. In the side movable deformable barrier test, the Magnite scored full marks and offered good protection to the driver’s head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. In the side pole impact test, the protection offered to the head, abdomen, and pelvis was good, while the protection to the chest was reported to be adequate.
Nissan Magnite: Child Occupant Protection
33.64 out of 49 in COP
In the child occupant protection (COP) test, the Nissan Magnite scored 15.64 out of 24 points in the dynamic test, 12 out of 12 points in CRS (child restraint system), and 6 out of 13 in the vehicle assessment test. In the frontal impact test, the child seat for a 3-year-old dummy was installed rearward facing using the ISOFIX anchorages and a support leg, and it could not prevent head contact with the interior of the car. The child seat for the 18-month-old dummy was installed rearward facing using the ISOFIX anchorages and a support leg, and it could prevent head exposure during the frontal impact; however, chest performance was slightly below good protection. In the side impact test, the child restraint system (CRS) for an 18-month-old offered full side impact protection, but the CRS for the 3-year-old showed head exposure, dropping the side head protection score to zero. The Nissan Magnite features ISOFIX anchorages on the rear seats but does not feature an integrated child restraint system.
Nissan Magnite: Platform and Safety Features
The Nissan Magnite is built on the Renault-Nissan alliance’s CMF-A+ platform. It offers a long list of safety features as standard, such as 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, hill hold assist, traction control, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), ISOFIX child seat anchors, and rear parking sensors. Its higher variants add a rear-view camera, rear defogger, and a 360-degree camera.
The pre-facelift model of the Nissan Magnite was tested under Global NCAP’s older norms (phased out in 2022), and it had scored a 4-star rating for adult occupancy and a 2-star rating for child occupancy. Determined to improve, Nissan made a series of safety enhancements to the Magnite, making features like six airbags and electronic stability control (ESC) standard across the variants. Their efforts have paid dividends as the Magnite has become the first car in the South African market under Global NCAP’s current protocols to attain the much sought-after five-star rating.
