Hatchbacks With a Bharat NCAP Safety Rating in India (2026)

The Tata Altroz is the only 5-star Bharat NCAP hatchback, and the breadth of its rating matters as much as the stars: it covers the petrol, diesel and CNG families. The Maruti Baleno's 4-star adult and 3-star child result belongs to the previous car and to petrol trims only, so neither the September 2026 facelift nor the S-CNG is covered by it. The Baleno is the only rated hatchback with driver assistance, which its brochure badges Level 2+, on the Alpha (O) trims.

Only two hatchbacks sold in India carry a Bharat NCAP rating. The Tata Altroz has 5 stars for both adult and child protection, scoring 29.65 out of 32 and 44.90 out of 49. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno has 4 stars for adults and 3 for children, and that result belongs to the previous car, not the September 2026 facelift. Every other hatchback on sale has either a Global NCAP result from an earlier protocol or no independent crash test at all.

There is a second difference between the two that matters more than the star count. The Altroz rating covers its petrol, diesel and CNG variants. Both Baleno ratings are labelled "Gasoline" and their applicability lists contain petrol trims only, so the Baleno S-CNG is not covered by any Bharat NCAP result. If you are shopping for a crash-tested CNG hatchback, that single fact decides it.

The two rated hatchbacks at a glance

Hatchback	Bharat NCAP (adult / child)	Fuels the rating covers	Airbags	ADAS	Price range (ex-showroom)
Tata Altroz	5 stars, 29.65/32 and 44.90/49	Petrol, diesel and CNG	6	None	Rs 6.00 lakh to Rs 10.90 lakh
Maruti Suzuki Baleno	4 stars adult, 3 stars child, 26.52/32 and 34.81/49	Petrol only	6 standard	Level 2+	Rs 5.99 lakh to Rs 9.99 lakh
Prices are ex-showroom Delhi, checked on 12 October 2026. The Baleno figures quoted are for the six-airbag version of the previous car.

Tata Altroz

The Altroz was rated in September 2025 at Bharat NCAP, scoring 29.65 out of 32 for adults and 44.90 out of 49 for children. Bharat NCAP crash tested the Pure CNG MT, Creative S CNG MT and Accomplished S DMT, and its applicability list extends the rating across the petrol family, the diesel family and the petrol-CNG family. That breadth is unusual and it is the Altroz's strongest card.

Three engines are on offer. The 1.2 petrol makes 88 PS and 115 Nm with a 5-speed manual, 5-speed AMT or 6-speed DCA. The 1.2 petrol-CNG makes 73.5 PS and 103 Nm in CNG mode, claiming 26.90 km/kg. The 1.5 diesel makes 90 PS and 200 Nm and claims 23.60 km/l, which is a rarity in this segment now.

Safety equipment includes six airbags, ABS with EBD, ESP, hill hold assist, ISOFIX, three-point belts in every seat, tyre pressure monitoring, rear parking sensors, a 360-degree camera with blind view monitor and an SOS emergency call. There is no ADAS at any price.

Maruti Suzuki Baleno

The Baleno's position needs unpicking, because there are two ratings and neither applies to the car currently in showrooms.

In June 2025 Bharat NCAP published two results for the previous Baleno. The two-airbag version scored 24.04 out of 32 for adults, and the six-airbag version scored 26.52. Both scored 34.81 out of 49 for children, which is 3 stars. Both were tested on the Delta AGS and Alpha AGS, and both applicability lists name 1.2-litre petrol trims only. The facelift launched in September 2026 has not been tested.

The new car uses the Z12E engine, 1197 cc, making 61 kW (82.93 PS) at 5700 rpm and 112.4 Nm at 4500 rpm. In CNG mode it drops to 51.3 kW (69.75 PS) and 101.8 Nm. Maruti claims 23.80 km/l for the petrol manual, 24.77 km/l for the automatic, and 33.61 and 34.47 km/kg for the CNG manual and automatic.

Where the Baleno pulls ahead is driver assistance. Its brochure badges the system ADAS Level 2+, with adaptive cruise control including curve speed reduction, lane keep assist, lane departure prevention and warning, vehicle sway warning, advanced emergency braking and forward collision warning that recognise cars, motorcycles, pedestrians and bicycles, plus high beam assist. It is fitted to the Alpha (O) manual and automatic, which top the range at Rs 9.99 lakh. Six airbags are standard across the range on the new car, along with ESP with hill hold, ABS with EBD, brake assist, ISOFIX and tyre pressure monitoring.

The caveat is worth repeating. CNG is offered on the Delta and Zeta trims, and those are the trims no Bharat NCAP rating covers.

What the two ratings actually tell you

Question	Tata Altroz	Maruti Baleno
Rated by Bharat NCAP	Yes, September 2025	Yes, June 2025, previous model
Does the rating cover the car on sale now	Yes	No, the facelift is untested
Does it cover the CNG variant	Yes	No
Does it cover a diesel	Yes	No diesel offered
Adult protection	29.65/32	26.52/32
Child protection	44.90/49	34.81/49
Driver assistance	None	Level 2+ on Alpha (O)
On crash protection the Altroz wins clearly, and on avoiding the crash in the first place the Baleno is the only option. That is the honest trade.

Hatchbacks with a Global NCAP rating

If your shortlist is not above, the car may still have been tested by Global NCAP, the programme that rated Indian cars before Bharat NCAP existed. Read these results with three things in mind.

The protocols are different, so a Global NCAP star is not a Bharat NCAP star and the two should not be weighed against each other. Several of these cars were tested in older versions, often with two airbags, and have since been updated. And the Tiago, Grand i10 Nios and i20 were scored under the earlier protocol, which marks adult protection out of 17 rather than 34.

Hatchback	Adult protection	Child protection	Year tested
Tata Tiago	4 stars, 12.52/17	3 stars, 34.15/49	2020
Hyundai i20	3 stars, 8.84/17	3 stars, 36.89/49	2022
Maruti Suzuki Celerio	3 stars, 18.04/34	2 stars, 18.57/49	2025
Maruti Suzuki Alto K10	2 stars, 21.67/34	0 stars, 3.52/49	2023
Hyundai Grand i10 Nios	2 stars, 7.05/17	2 stars, 15.00/49	2020
Maruti Suzuki WagonR	1 star, 19.69/34	0 stars, 3.40/49	2023
Maruti Suzuki S-Presso	1 star, 20.03/34	0 stars, 3.52/49	2022
Citroen eC3	0 stars, 20.86/34	1 star, 10.55/49	2024
The child protection scores in the lower half of that table are the ones to look at twice. A result of 3.40 out of 49 for the WagonR or 3.52 for the Alto K10 and S-Presso reflects tests run on versions without ISOFIX anchorages fitted as standard, and those scores are the weakest published for any hatchback sold here.

Why so few hatchbacks have been rated

Bharat NCAP testing is voluntary and the manufacturer pays for it. Makers have put their SUVs forward first, because that is where the margins and the marketing value sit, and because a strong result there shifts more metal. Hatchbacks, sold mostly on price, have been left behind: more than a dozen are on sale and two have been through the programme.

The gap is closing slowly, but until it does, an absent rating means only that nobody paid to test the car. It is not evidence the car is unsafe, and it is not evidence it is safe either.

What to check on the variant you buy

A rating belongs to the variants named in Bharat NCAP's applicability list, not to the badge on the boot. Three checks take a minute each and are worth more than the star count.

Match the fuel. The Altroz rating covers petrol, diesel and CNG. The Baleno ratings cover petrol only. If you are buying CNG, this is the difference between a tested car and an untested one.
Match the trim. Open the Ratings Applicability tab on the car's Bharat NCAP page and find your exact variant. The Baleno six-airbag rating, for example, covers Zeta and Alpha but not Sigma or Delta.
Count the airbags on that trim, not on the range. The previous Baleno earned two different scores, 24.04 and 26.52 out of 32, purely on airbag count. Six are standard on the current car, but on the used market that distinction still matters.

FAQs

Which hatchback has a 5-star Bharat NCAP rating?

The Tata Altroz, and it is the only one. It holds 5 stars for both adult protection (29.65 out of 32) and child protection (44.90 out of 49), and the rating covers its petrol, diesel and CNG variants.

What is the Maruti Baleno's Bharat NCAP rating?

Four stars for adults and three for children, awarded in June 2025 to the previous car. The six-airbag version scored 26.52 out of 32 and the two-airbag version 24.04, with both scoring 34.81 out of 49 for children. The September 2026 facelift has not been tested.

Is the Baleno CNG covered by its Bharat NCAP rating?

No. Both Baleno results are gasoline ratings and their applicability lists name only 1.2-litre petrol trims. CNG is sold on the Delta and Zeta, which fall outside both ratings. The Altroz CNG, by contrast, is covered.

Which Bharat NCAP-rated hatchback offers ADAS?

Only the Baleno. Maruti's brochure badges it Level 2+ and it is fitted to the Alpha (O) manual and automatic, at the top of a range that ends at Rs 9.99 lakh. The Altroz offers no driver assistance.

Has the Maruti Swift been crash tested?

The current Swift has no Bharat NCAP rating. Bharat NCAP publishes no result for it, so the only Maruti hatchbacks with an India crash-test score are the Baleno at Bharat NCAP and the Celerio, Alto K10, WagonR and S-Presso at Global NCAP.

Which is the cheaper of the two rated hatchbacks?

The Baleno, starting at Rs 5.99 lakh against the Altroz at Rs 6.00 lakh. The gap is one thousand rupees, so it should not decide anything on its own.