Ford Fiesta receives maximum 5-Star safety rating in inaugural ASEAN NCAP

MANILA, Philippines - The Ford Fiesta has received the highest safety rating among eight popular car models recently tested by the inaugural ASEAN NCAP (New Car Assessment Program) frontal collision crash test.

The four-door 1.6L Ford Fiesta obtained the highest assessment in the first independent crash test on ASEAN cars’ safety specifications by achieving a 5-star rating for Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) and 66 percent score for Child Occupant Protection (COP), achieving the highest evaluation of 15.73 from full score of 16.

“The Ford Fiesta’s five-star rating in the ASEAN-NCAP helps further reinforce our commitment to provide class-leading safety with every Ford vehicle we offer,” said Neal McCarthy, ASEAN Communications Director, Ford Motor Company. “The Fiesta provides multi-dimension protection for the occupants on board, offered by smartly deployed airbags, body rigidity, and attention to detail that has gone into defining the Fiesta and its safety performance,” he added.

To be eligible for a five-star rating, a vehicle must be fitted with at least two airbags, electronic stability control and front occupant seat belt reminder warning.

The Ford Fiesta’s class-leading safety brings world class safety in a small platform package and raises the bar on safety in its segment through leveraging Ford’s global engineering tools and advanced safety technologies. Safety is embedded from design to manufacturing to ensure top performance in both active and passive safety of the Ford Fiesta.

Beneath Fiesta’s stylish exterior is a robust structure, crafted to preserve quality and enhance driver and passenger safety. More than half of the body structure is constructed in high-strength steel, including grades of very high-strength, dual-phase steel and ultra-high-strength Boron steel. These components add rigidity and save weight, increasing structural efficiency while also helping Fiesta deliver high fuel efficiency. 

The Fiesta Sport Ultimate tested is well-equipped with safety features to help protect its occupants in the instance of a collision. It features a breadth of advanced safety equipment and passive safety technologies, including seven airbags, driver and co-driver seat airbags, new side-chest airbags, and the inflatable air curtains for front and rear seat occupants.

A series of airbag sensor calibration tests have also been carried out to ensure the airbags can be properly and timely deployed when most needed to provide safer protection.

The unique E-PAS power-steering gives the driver a better feel and improved agility when negotiating a curve. The ABS and EBD also contribute to enhancing the active safety of the car.

The backrests of the front seats are designed to offer “whiplash injury” protection. In addition, the shell-shaped engine hood, the sports windshield and the three-winged curve on the front bumper, as well as other design elements, such as the elaborately styled front lights, a set of bumper-embedded shock-absorption grill, are put together with pedestrian safety in mind to minimize possible injury.

The all-new Ford Fiesta was introduced in ASEAN in 2010, and is built at Ford’s AutoAlliance Thailand joint-venture in Rayong, Thailand. In 2012, Ford sold over 43,210 new Fiestas in ASEAN, an increase of 26 percent from 2011.