The Ford Mustang on sale in Australia today initially received a “poor” two-star safety score and then a three-star rating after an upgrade – but still fell short of the five-star industry benchmark. The new model could miss the mark too.
The 2023 Ford Mustang may not earn a five-star safety rating despite a sweeping overhaul to the vehicle due next year, according to the chief engineer of the vehicle.
The world’s top-selling sports car missed the mark when it was crash-tested in 2017, earning a “poor” two-star score before later earning a three-star rating following an update.
But the new Ford Mustang – which is the same as today’s model under the skin but with new sheetmetal and upgraded engines – may once again miss the mark when it comes to safety.
At a preview of the new Ford Mustang in Detroit, the vehicle engineering manager for the vehicle, Eddie Khan, told Drive: “We did not complete all the testing on that (Euro NCAP or Australasian NCAP) yet, so that is still yet to come.”
When asked if a five-star safety score was a target for the new Ford Mustang, Mr Khan said: “I would not say that our target was Euro NCAP for the five-star (rating).”
The Ford Mustang in local showrooms today was slammed after it earned a two-star safety rating due to deficiencies in some of the core crash tests.
The 2017 safety report said in part: “Good protection was provided for the driver in the side impact test. In the full-width frontal test, driver chest protection was acceptable and other body regions were good.”
However, the Ford Mustang score was penalised because although the cabin retained structural integrity in the frontal offset crash test, “the brake pedal rearward movement was excessive” and “insufficient inflation of both the driver and front passenger airbags caused bottoming out of the dummy heads.”
In other words, the airbags did not fully protect the driver and front passenger because their heads pushed through the airbag and into the structure behind them, because the airbag was not fully inflated at that precise moment. This calculation is critical and other cars are successful at deploying the airbag and seatbelt pretensioners at the correct time.
The safety report also noted “the rear passenger was not well protected with a risk of serious head, chest and leg injury,” due in part to the lack of rear seatbelt pre-tensioners.
Even with an update, the current-generation Ford Mustang only managed a “marginal” three-star rating.
Ford was likely not expecting the Mustang to be tested to stringent Euro NCAP and ANCAP safety protocols, but the independent crash safety authorities decided to assess the vehicle given its rising popularity globally.
While private buyers may not care about the Ford Mustang’s low safety score, the lack of a five-star safety rating rules it out for fleets and companies that have a five-star safety policy. It was also a factor that ruled out the Ford Mustang for possible police use by the NSW Highway Patrol.
The Ford Mustang’s underwhelming safety score was also a demonstration that not all modern cars are created equally, no matter how much technology is listed on the brochure.
The majority of popular new cars sold in Australia over the past decade have earned a five-star crash safety score.
Although the Ford Mustang meets or exceeds Australian road safety regulations, the ANCAP star-rating program has become a default measure widely used across the industry, as it is the only way car buyers can distinguish the various levels of occupant protection across a wide range of vehicles.
Drive has contacted Ford Australia for comment, and will update this story with its response.
The post 2023 Ford Mustang: Five-star safety rating not guaranteed appeared first on Drive.
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