Independent vehicle safety advocate, ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) has given a safety rating to the Ford Mustang of just two stars out of five.
The tests were carried out in Europe by NCAP, but ANCAP nowadays follows the same procedures.
ANCAP’s CEO, James Goodwin, says, “This result is simply shocking for such a newly designed and popular model. The safety of adult occupants, child occupants and the ability to avoid a crash all form the basis of our ratings and the Mustang falls short in each of these areas.
“There’s strong consumer expectation that a new vehicle will be 5 stars and a sports car is no different – safety should never be compromised,” he said.
Mustang’s rating is limited to two stars due to its poor performance in three of the four areas of assessment – Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection and Safety Assist. The poorest performing area of assessment was Safety Assist with the Mustang scoring 2 points out of a possible 12 points (16%).
“It’s disappointing speed assistance systems, lane support systems, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning and rear seat belt reminders are all missing from the Mustang,” Mr Goodwin said.
“Of concern, the full width frontal test showed a risk of serious head, chest and leg injury for the rear passenger. There was also insufficient inflation of both the driver and front passenger airbags in the frontal offset test which allowed the driver’s head to contact the steering wheel and the passenger’s head to contact the dashboard.
“The driver’s door opened in the pole test, and whiplash protection for rear-end collisions was marginal,”
Mr Goodwin want on to say, “This rating should not come as a surprise to Ford as we maintain strong relationships with vehicle brands and they are informed on the development of our protocols.
“I would encourage Ford to swiftly introduce design and production changes to improve its safety performance,” Mr Goodwin added.
The rating was given to the Mustang GT V8 coupe, not the convertible or the EcoBoost four-cylinder model.
ANCAP is supported by all Australian and New Zealand motoring clubs, the Australian Government, the New Zealand Government, Australian state and territory governments, the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, IAG and the FIA Foundation.
Crash test results for the Ford Mustang and more than 600 other vehicles can be found on ancap.com.au/
