In a bizarre accident, a Volkswagen Taigun overturned after hitting a parked Tata Tiago. This accident was reported from Surat, Gujarat. The accident happened sometime back but shows the importance of centre-of-gravity in a car.

According to the video, the Volkswagen Taigun hit the Tata Tiago, which was parked on a roadside. The impact caused the Taigun to overturn. The video shows that the Taigun is resting on its roof while the Tata Tiago is still upright.

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The eyewitnesses say that the Volkswagen Taigun was at a very high speed when it crashed into the Tata Tiago. The impact between the rear right of the Tata Tiago and the front left of the Taigun caused the mid-size SUV to overturn. There were no injuries reported from the incident. Everyone came out safely.

Why did it overturn?

While a high-speed car hitting at a certain angle can become highly unstable and overturn, it might be because of the high centre gravity in SUVs too. We cannot say for sure as we have not investigated the accident site. SUVs are more prone to overturning compared to standard hatchbacks or sedans due to their top-heavy setup caused by high ground clearance. When driving SUVs at high speeds, one should be extra careful. The high ground clearance moves the centre of gravity of the vehicle away from the road surface, causing instability in SUVs. As a result, taking high-speed corners in an SUV can be unnerving, while it feels perfectly fine in low-slung cars like sedans.

The high ground clearance of SUVs increases their tendency to tilt and fall. Therefore, people should be more cautious when driving SUVs, particularly when switching from a sedan.

Top-rated cars

Both the vehicles are safest cars in their respective segments. The Volkswagen Taigun scored a perfect five-star rating in Global NCAP testing while the Tata Tiago hatchback scored a four-star rating.

According to the safety ratings by Global NCAP, the Tiago is the safest car in its segment, receiving four stars despite unstable ratings for its footwell and structure.

Tata Motors boasts one of the best model line-ups in India in terms of safety ratings. The Tata Tiago and Tigor have received four-star safety ratings, while the Tata Altroz and the Tata Nexon have full five-star safety ratings. The safety rating agency has yet to test other Tata vehicles, such as the Harrier and Safari.

The Taigun and Kushaq were tested under the new guidelines of the Global NCAP, which are more stringent. That’s why the Taigun and Kushaq are rated as the safest cars in the market. Global NCAP’s updated crash test protocols evaluate both front and side impact protection for all tested models. In addition, vehicles must undergo assessments for Electronic Stability Control (ESC), pedestrian protection, and side impact pole protection to achieve a full five-star safety rating.

The adult safety protection score for both cars is 29.64 out of 34, and the child safety score is 42 out of 49. The presence of front airbags and ESC as standard features helped both cars achieve the highest ratings.

Global NCAP reports that both vehicles provided good protection for the head and neck of the driver and passenger. The driver’s chest protection was adequate, while the passenger’s chest protection was good. The driver’s and passenger’s knee protection was also good.