Ford Falcon: 5-Star Safety Rating

By Peter Maniatis - 6/August/2008

Melbourne, Australia — Ford Australia is absolutely stoked at receiving a 5-star safety rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The independent 5-star rating from ANCAP - the highest possible - is the first for an Australian designed and manufactured car and reinforces the design ingenuity that has gone into the new Ford Falcon.

"We design our cars to deliver real-world safety benefits for our customers," Ford Australia's president Bill Osborne said.

"Not only is the FG Falcon the safest vehicle ever produced in this country, it is also competitive with the safest sedans in the world," added Mr Osborne.

Lauchlan McIntosh, the chairman of ANCAP and who attended the press conference at Ford Australia's headquarters in Broadmeadows, was absolutely delighted that an Australian manufactured car achieved a 5-star rating, but was disappointed that governments across Australia are not doing enough to encourage the purchase of safer cars in Australia. 

Mr McIntosh is clearly passionate about and dedicated to motor safety in Australia, and called on state and federal governments to take heed of the local automotive industry success in achieving 5-star safety ratings, and to ask that all government agencies mandate the purchase of only 5-star safety rated vehicles.

This would further reinforce local industry to develop safer cars and more safer cars would be introduced into the marketplace.

While the Falcon is the first Australian designed and manufactured car to achieve the 5-star safety rating, it's locally-made rivals, the Toyota Aurion and Holden Commodore, scored 4-star safety ratings. 

This achievement will put an huge feather in the marketing cap of Ford Australia and perhaps help them leverage the esteem throughout their range of vehicles. 

However the rating only covers the petrol versions of the FG series of Ford Falcons, which is a shame as liquid petroleum gas (LPG) models make up 20 per cent of new Falcons purchased. 

The large car segment is also shrinking due mainly to increasing petrol prices, and it would be a benefit to have the LPG Falcon 5-star rated for families that are looking at the fuel economy issue.

Never the less, this is a great achievement for local ingenuity but also a great outcome for Australian drivers, once again showing we can be globally competitive in the auto industry. 

Ford continues to throw the gauntlet down to Holden – where the VE is looking outdated and not on par – especially with safety. 

The Falcon scored a total of 34.6 points out of a possible 37 points.

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