Datewithacrash testerfloorsFord
TWENTY years ago — and amid much opposition from motor manufacturers — British car buyers saw the results of the very first crash tests. ‘Not necessary’, ‘ our cars are safe’, ‘ we don’t need them’, was the almost unanimous view I heard from a motor industry miffed at having their own internal standards questioned in this way.
But the buying public embraced the tests — and the relatively simple star-rating system.
First casualty of the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) was the Mini Metro — rebadged the Rover 100 — whose appalling crash-test results saw it consigned to history.
Two decades later, as Euro NCAP prepares to celebrate its 20th anniversary, crash tests have been credited with saving thousands of lives. Buyers now routinely check how many stars a car receives before parting with their cash.
There’s no doubt the naming and shaming has had a significant impact on driving up safety standards in new vehicles. This was exemplified this week by a tale of two different car test results — a highly praised Volvo and a poorly rated Ford.
The damning assessment was made by safety watchdog Thatcham Research, the automotive centre that has been the voice of Euro NCAP crash tests in the UK since 2004. It is concerned that Ford made a ‘deliberate decision’ to exclude key safety features on the Mustang sold in Britain that are available to U.S. buyers, such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and a high-tech radar collision warning system.
The Mustang was given a lowly two-star rating, scoring 72 per cent for protecting adult occupants, and 64 per cent and 32 per cent for protecting pedestrians and child occupants respectively. Whiplash protection in a rear collision was rated ‘poor’.
By contrast, Volvo’s S90 and V90 models gained the top five- star rating, following in the footsteps of the XC90, and were praised for their ‘class-leading safety’.
The S90 scored 95 per cent for adult occupant protection, 76 per cent for pedestrian protection and 80 per cent for child occupant protection. While the Volvo scored 93 per cent for ‘safety assist’, the Mustang got just 16 per cent.
Ford said it was ‘disappointed’ by the poor rating, but pledged that customers ordering a Mustang after September would receive an updated version fitted with key new safety technology.