Ford boss highlights Mustang and Escape ANCAP disparity

Ford Australia is pointing to inconsistencies in the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) after its new Escape SUV scored five stars soon after the company's popular Mustang scored only two stars.

The Mustang has attracted plenty of criticism for its poor result which was mainly caused by the lack of autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and other active safety technologies. The company recently released the new Escape midsize SUV without AEB as standard on any version.

The new Escape retains the five-star ANCAP rating of the Kuga despite the lightly-revised vehicle offering not too much more than a new nameplate and re-jigged styling.

Both the new Mustang and the Escape have been date stamped ‘2017’ by ANCAP despite being tested under very different criteria.

Ford Australia boss Graeme Whickman said that the Mustang's two-star rating was almost solely because of its poor active safety score.

“We have to be very careful about the interpretation of the Mustang results,” he said. “You have to take a strong factual view of what the results are telling you, and also the testing regime.

“There has been a lot more balanced commentary since that (two-star result) first broke, as people actually get to understand the facts.

“So the facts are, the four pillars of that rating: five star – pedestrian (protection), four star – adult (protection), three star – child (protection), two star – driver assist. If you look at specifically the driver assist two-star– which drove the whole result, ignore the five, four and three stars – it was on the back of no lane-keeping (assistance), no AEB, and no seatbelt reminder in the rear.

“I’m not critical of the safety body, it’s their job to put their point of view in front of people based on a testing regime, just as long as it’s done in a factual way.”

Mr Whickman also denied ANCAP’s accusation that the company tried to avoid providing vehicles for crash testing purposes.

Both Fords received a perfect score for the side impact test.

“We were down a pathway (of) some testing in Europe at the time NCAP came and asked (for a vehicle),” he explained.

“We were already down a pathway (to the next model facelift), so it doesn’t really make sense for us to (offer a vehicle). Of course, it’s ANCAP’s prerogative to do whatever they want, but at the same time we’re struggling to keep pace with customer demand.”

The 2018 Mustang will likely improve its active safety score after being equipped with active cruise control, AEB and lane-keep assistance.

“Euro NCAP has a strong emphasis on SUVs, MPVs and the like (and) so they have put in conditions such as AEB,” Mr Whickman added.

Yet Ford’s Escape medium SUV launched locally last week with the above safety equipment as part of a $1300-optional Technology Package.

Notwithstanding this, ANCAP’s five-star result carried over from the Escape’s Kuga predecessor with no requirement for active safety technologies beyond electronic stability control (ESC) to affect the score.

Both Fords received a perfect score for the side impact test while on the frontal offset crash test, the Mustang scored 13.82 points compared to the Kuga/Escape with 15.33 points.

“I don’t want to bring into question the testing regime,” said Mr Whickman when asked how the Escape can have a five-star ANCAP rating with its lack of standard active safety equipment.

“It’s clear that they (ANCAP) have differing assessments, and they’re looking to try and harmonise it over time,” he added.

“I think at times it can be confusing to consumers and that’s why the facts need to speak for themselves.”

The local Ford boss also refuted suggestions that customers preferred automatic reverse-parking assistance, standard equipment on the top of the line Escape Titanium, over AEB which only made it as far as the option list.

“I’m not suggesting that somebody would value one thing over another, it’s their own personal preference and we don’t try to take that preference,” he said.

“I think people will make trade-offs in their mind in general, regardless of the product. The first step … is make sure you have the options available to them, so they can make a choice. In terms of AEB, it’s part of a pack from the (Escape) Trend upwards, if somebody wants that then it’s there for them to take.

“If that suits their taste and their requirements, then that’s great.”

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