VariantWise Observatory · finding 4
The price of safety, grade by grade
Ask what safety costs and you get a straight answer about the wrong thing, because the features buyers actually shop on here are not fitted or not fitted. They are graded. Of the 12 safety features recorded on the 208 cars on sale here, 2 come in grades and the other 10 are a yes or a no. So the honest question is not what airbags cost. It is what the next grade up costs, and that has a different answer at every step of the ladder.
Here is where each ladder stands today. 6 airbags: offered on 198 of 208 cars, fitted to every variant on 191 of them, still a paid step on 7, and out of reach on 10. The cheapest car carrying it is ₹3.70L. Level 2 (core suite) ADAS: offered on 106 of 208 cars, fitted to every variant on 55 of them, still a paid step on 46, and out of reach on 102. The cheapest car carrying it is ₹9.39L. Across both, 53 of the 208 cars still charge you to climb to what the market has settled on.
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<iframe src="https://variantwise.com/embed/findings/safety-ladder" title="The price of safety, grade by grade" width="100%" height="736" style="border:0;max-width:720px" loading="lazy"></iframe> <p style="font-size:13px">Source: <a href="https://variantwise.com/data/findings/safety-ladder">VariantWise, The price of safety, grade by grade</a></p>
Airbags, grade by grade
The market has settled on 6 airbags: 198 of the 208 cars on sale offer it somewhere in their range, and no higher grade is on more of them. All 23 brands have at least one car with it, and the cheapest of those anywhere is ₹3.70L. The ladder does not stop there: 2 cars reach 15 airbags, from ₹2.20Cr.
On most cars that offer it, though, it is not a decision any more. 191 of the 208 cars fit 6 airbags to every variant they sell, so there is nothing to climb to and nothing to pay: it is simply part of the car. Only 7 cars still make you step up for it, typically ₹1.03L, and 10 cannot reach it at all, which is the number worth checking before you shortlist on price alone.
Each bar is all 208 cars on sale, split by what this grade means on them: dark grey fitted to every variant, orange still a step you pay for, mid grey offered but never above a variant that falls short, pale grey never reached. The figure on the right is how many cars offer the grade at all. Free to republish with credit to VariantWise.
| Grade | Cars offering it | Fitted throughout | Still a step up | Typical step | Cheapest car at it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 208 | 208 | 0 | - | ₹3.50L |
| 3 | 200 | 195 | 5 | ₹1.03L | ₹3.70L |
| 4 | 200 | 194 | 6 | ₹1.05L | ₹3.70L |
| 6 | 198 | 191 | 7 | ₹1.03L | ₹3.70L |
| 7 | 83 | 75 | 8 | ₹2.45L | ₹16.19L |
| 8 | 55 | 52 | 2 | ₹4.24L | ₹36.99L |
| 9 | 31 | 29 | 1 | ₹3.50L | ₹36.99L |
| 10 | 10 | 9 | 0 | - | ₹37.49L |
| 11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | - | ₹41.90L |
| 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | - | ₹2.20Cr |
| 15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | - | ₹2.20Cr |
Where you do pay, what you pay is not one number. The smallest step into 6 airbags anywhere is ₹52,000 on the Mahindra Thar OG Turbo Petrol, and the largest is ₹3.78L on the Toyota Innova Crysta Diesel. That largest step is also the steepest as a share of the car, at 18% of the car it steps off. That step also hands over 8 other features, front parking sensors, headlamps, speakers, cruise control among them, which is the caveat this whole page carries: the equipment list belongs to the trim, so you are buying a variant and this is what made you climb to it.
Which badge you walk into decides what that costs. The cheapest way into 6 airbags starts at ₹3.70L and runs to ₹66.10L, 18 times as much for the same grade, and every one of the 23 brands offers it on something.
| Brand | Cheapest way in | The car | Cars offering it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maruti Suzuki | ₹3.70L | Alto K10 STD Petrol MT | 16 of 17 |
| Tata | ₹4.77L | Tiago Smart Petrol MT | 15 of 16 |
| Renault | ₹5.15L | Kwid Climber Petrol MT | 4 of 4 |
| Hyundai | ₹5.60L | Grand i10 Nios Era Petrol MT | 13 of 13 |
| Nissan | ₹5.69L | Magnite Visia Petrol MT | 3 of 3 |
| Toyota | ₹6.99L | Glanza E Petrol MT | 12 of 12 |
| Citroen | ₹7.03L | C3X Feel (O) Petrol MT | 5 of 5 |
| Kia | ₹7.41L | Sonet HTE Petrol MT | 11 of 11 |
| Skoda | ₹7.59L | Kylaq Classic Turbo Petrol MT | 4 of 4 |
| Honda | ₹7.65L | Amaze V Petrol MT | 4 of 5 |
| Mahindra | ₹7.79L | XUV 3XO MX1 Turbo Petrol MT | 9 of 13 |
| Volkswagen | ₹10.71L | Virtus Comfortline Turbo Petrol MT | 4 of 4 |
| MG | ₹12.14L | Hector Style Turbo Petrol MT | 9 of 11 |
| VinFast | ₹17.29L | VF 6 Earth Electric AT | 2 of 3 |
| Jeep | ₹17.99L | Compass Sport Diesel MT | 4 of 4 |
| BYD | ₹24.99L | ATTO 3 Dynamic Electric AT | 4 of 4 |
| Volvo | ₹41.00L | EX30 Ultra Electric AT | 5 of 5 |
| BMW | ₹45.80L | 2 Series Gran Coupe 218 M Sport Turbo Petrol AT | 19 of 19 |
| Audi | ₹46.88L | A4 Premium Turbo Petrol Mild Hybrid AT | 8 of 8 |
| Tesla | ₹50.89L | Model Y Premium Electric AT | 2 of 2 |
| Mercedes-Benz | ₹51.80L | GLA 200 Petrol AT | 26 of 26 |
| Land Rover | ₹63.37L | Discovery Sport Dynamic SE Diesel Mild Hybrid AT | 12 of 12 |
| Lexus | ₹66.10L | ES 350h Exquisite Hybrid AT | 7 of 7 |
The cheapest variant from each brand carrying 6 airbags, computed 2026-10-24 and recomputed with every data update.
ADAS, grade by grade
The market has settled on Level 2 (core suite) ADAS: 106 of the 208 cars on sale offer it somewhere in their range, and no higher grade is on more of them. 20 of the 23 brands have at least one car with it, and the cheapest of those anywhere is ₹9.39L. The ladder does not stop there: 52 cars reach Level 2 (full suite) ADAS, from ₹14.68L.
On most cars that offer it, though, it is not a decision any more. 55 of the 208 cars fit Level 2 (core suite) ADAS to every variant they sell, so there is nothing to climb to and nothing to pay: it is simply part of the car. Only 46 cars still make you step up for it, typically ₹1.07L, and 102 cannot reach it at all, which is the number worth checking before you shortlist on price alone. Another 5 cars offer it but never above a variant that falls short, so there is no step to price there either.
Each bar is all 208 cars on sale, split by what this grade means on them: dark grey fitted to every variant, orange still a step you pay for, mid grey offered but never above a variant that falls short, pale grey never reached. The figure on the right is how many cars offer the grade at all. Free to republish with credit to VariantWise.
| Grade | Cars offering it | Fitted throughout | Still a step up | Typical step | Cheapest car at it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 138 | 85 | 47 | ₹1.07L | ₹9.39L |
| Level 2 (core suite) | 106 | 55 | 46 | ₹1.07L | ₹9.39L |
| Level 2 (full suite) | 52 | 28 | 22 | ₹1.08L | ₹14.68L |
Hardly anyone stops at the bottom of this ladder. Of the 47 cars that still step up into Level 1 ADAS at all, 46 land on a higher grade than that, so the cheap way onto the ladder mostly is not on offer: you are climbing to Level 2 (core suite) ADAS whether you meant to or not.
Where you do pay, what you pay is not one number. The smallest step into Level 2 (core suite) ADAS anywhere is ₹5,000 on the Kia Carens Clavis Turbo Petrol, and the largest is ₹8.00L on the Skoda Kodiaq Turbo Petrol. The one to watch is neither: it is the Hyundai Venue N Line Turbo Petrol, where the cheapest route to it costs ₹3.93L, or 34% of the car it steps off. That step also hands over 10 other features, 360° camera, front parking sensors, touchscreen, speakers among them, which is the caveat this whole page carries: the equipment list belongs to the trim, so you are buying a variant and this is what made you climb to it.
Which badge you walk into decides what that costs. The cheapest way into Level 2 (core suite) ADAS starts at ₹9.39L and runs to ₹1.43Cr, 15 times as much for the same grade, and 3 of the 23 brands do not offer it on anything they sell here.
| Brand | Cheapest way in | The car | Cars offering it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honda | ₹9.39L | Amaze ZX Petrol MT | 4 of 5 |
| Maruti Suzuki | ₹9.50L | Baleno Alpha (O) Petrol MT | 3 of 17 |
| Toyota | ₹10.49L | Glanza V(O) Petrol MT | 6 of 12 |
| Mahindra | ₹12.03L | XUV 3XO AX5 L Turbo Petrol MT | 8 of 13 |
| Tata | ₹13.77L | Nexon Fearless+ A PS Turbo Petrol AT | 9 of 16 |
| Hyundai | ₹14.68L | Venue HX 10 Turbo Petrol AT | 8 of 13 |
| MG | ₹15.30L | Astor Savvy Pro Petrol AT | 10 of 11 |
| Nissan | ₹15.39L | Tekton Tekna Turbo Petrol 100 PS MT | 1 of 3 |
| Renault | ₹16.99L | Duster Iconic Turbo Petrol MT | 1 of 4 |
| Kia | ₹17.02L | Seltos HTX(A) Petrol MT | 8 of 11 |
| VinFast | ₹18.69L | VF 6 Wind Electric AT | 2 of 3 |
| BYD | ₹29.30L | eMAX 7 Superior Electric AT | 4 of 4 |
| Jeep | ₹36.05L | Meridian Overland Diesel FWD AT | 3 of 4 |
| Volvo | ₹41.00L | EX30 Ultra Electric AT | 5 of 5 |
| Volkswagen | ₹41.99L | Tayron Life Turbo Petrol AT | 2 of 4 |
| Skoda | ₹44.99L | Kodiaq Sportline Turbo Petrol AT | 1 of 4 |
| Mercedes-Benz | ₹56.50L | CLA 200 Progressive Line Electric AT | 14 of 26 |
| Lexus | ₹66.10L | ES 350h Exquisite Hybrid AT | 7 of 7 |
| BMW | ₹76.90L | X3 30 xDrive M Sport Pro Turbo Petrol AT | 6 of 19 |
| Land Rover | ₹1.43Cr | Range Rover Sport Dynamic HSE Diesel Mild Hybrid AT | 4 of 12 |
The cheapest variant from each brand carrying Level 2 (core suite) ADAS, computed 2026-10-24 and recomputed with every data update.
Method, in full
A feature gets a ladder here when the cars on sale take more than one grade of it above nothing. That is read from the catalogue, not decided in advance, so a safety feature that arrives next year with three tiers appears on this page on its own, and one that is a plain yes stays with the finding that prices those. Today 2 of 12 qualify. The grades on these tables are the ones the cars actually carry: a tier the schema allows but nobody sells is not a grade of this market’s ladder.
A grade on these tables means that grade OR BETTER, so a car is never counted as missing something it has more of. The grade each table leads on is the highest at least half the cars on sale offer, which is the one most buyers are actually choosing about; it is chosen by that rule rather than named here, because today’s flagship grade is next year’s floor and a number typed into this page would not notice.
The step is priced the way this series prices every step. Both halves share an engine AND a gearbox, so nothing in the figure is you changing engine or losing a clutch pedal on the way up: it is the cheapest variant on that powertrain reaching the grade, minus the dearest one below it that falls short. Where a car offers several routes in, the smallest is published, so every figure is the least that car can charge you. Prices are ex-showroom, from the same catalogue that prices this site’s own pages.
What it cannot do is isolate the safety features themselves, and it does not pretend to. The equipment list belongs to the TRIM in this catalogue, so a grade arrives with whatever else that trim carries. Every step is counted both ways, and the count of other features it hands over is on this page rather than in a disclaimer.
Nothing is dropped quietly. On every grade, the cars that offer no step are counted under the reason why, and those counts plus the steps add back to all 208 cars. On the grade each table leads on, that reads: for 6 airbags, 10 have no variant that reaches it, 191 have every variant already at it or above and 0 have it but never above a variant that falls short on the same powertrain, leaving 7 priced above; for Level 2 (core suite) ADAS, 102 have no variant that reaches it, 55 have every variant already at it or above and 5 have it but never above a variant that falls short on the same powertrain, leaving 46 priced above. Underneath them sit the same 479 engine-and-gearbox combinations the rest of the series counts, and a step is only ever priced inside one of them. We use the middle figure rather than the average, because a handful of very expensive cars would drag an average away from what most buyers are quoted. This page recomputed 2026-10-24, from 1607 variants across 208 cars and 23 brands, and it recomputes with every data update, so it does not rot the way a published table does.
The variant-by-variant prices and equipment behind it are free to download and reuse with attribution on the open data page. Earlier findings price the trim a sunroof lives in, the second pedal and the same car across every state, and the scoring behind the site is on how we rank.