The Ford Mustang failed miserably in Euro NCAP’s latest testing session, scoring an overall 2-star safety rating.
Tested by the European safety advocate, the muscle car’s first problems were noticed in the frontal offset test, when the front airbags “inflated insufficiently to properly restrain the occupants”.
The disappointing results continued with a high risk of abdominal injuries in the full-width frontal crash test, and head injuries of the 10-year dummy in the side impact. Its fate was sealed by the lack of safety technology on the European market, which is available on the other side of the Atlantic.
“Ford did not expect Euro NCAP to test the Mustang, and chose not to fit safety technology in Europe, which is available to its American consumers, and available on several other sports cars for that matter. Such an attitude to safety should trouble Ford’s customers, whether they are buying a high-powered muscle car, or a regular family car“, said Euro NCAP’s Secretary General, Michiel van Ratingen.
In response, Ford says that the facelifted version of the Mustang, which will go on sale later this year, is fitted with Pre-Collision Assist and Lane Keep Assist, as standard; the updated vehicle is also expected to be tested by Euro NCAP.
“We welcome any improvement, of course, and look forward to publishing a new rating for the updated model. However, more fundamental updates may be needed if the Mustang is to get a significantly better result. We therefore hope Ford takes the opportunity to invest in the changes needed now for future Mustang generations“, Ratingen added.
Euro NCAP’s results were also adopted by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), and are being used throughout the market.
“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“, said the ANCAP CEO, James Goodwin.
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