Ford Fiesta receives highest safety rating by Asean NCAP

|     Lyna Mohamad     |

FORD Fiesta received the highest safety rating among the eight  popular car models tested by the inaugural Asean NCAP (New Car Assessment Programme) frontal collision crash test, a results announced at the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety and Research (MIROS) PC3 crash lab in Ayer Molek, Malacca.

Ford Fiesta did really well in the crash test

According to a press release from local Ford Dealer, Premier Automobile Sdn Bhd, the eight car models tested between November until January were – Nissan March, Hyundai i10, Honda City, Toyota Vios, Proton Saga FLX, Ford Fiesta, Perodua Myvi and Proton Saga FLX+. The four-door Ford Fiesta 1.6 litre sedan obtained the highest assessment in the first independent crash test on ASEAN cars safety specifications by achieving five-star rating for Adult Occupant Protection (AOP). It also scored 66 per cent score for Child Occupant Protection (COP), achieving the highest evaluation point of 15.73 from full score of 16 and the closest contender is the Honda City 1.5 litre sedan with a 5-star rating for AOP and 81 per cent COP score and the Honda model obtained the score of 15.44 out of 16 points.

The five-star rating only applies to City models equipped with VSA (Honda’s marketing term for electronic stability control), and in the Malaysian context, this will refer to the Grade E model and at the same time it also implies that the City Grade S, which does not have VSC, will have a four-star rating, similar to the Toyota Vios. For a car 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.

Asean NCAP cannot be too specific on which particular grade variant does the rating applies to, as the results applies not only to Malaysia but across Asean as in other countries, the safety features may differ from Malaysia.