The new Ford Mondeo has won a 5-star rating for adult occupant protection in the latest round of Euro NCAP safety testing announced yesterday.  The test result for Mondeo was one of the top 10 ever recorded in the respected independent crash testing evaluations.

Mondeo joins three other Ford models – Focus, Galaxy and S-MAX – on the Euro NCAP top 10 list, reinforcing Ford of Europe's position as the manufacturer with the highest number of vehicles in the top 10 for adult occupant protection.

Mondeo scored 35 points for adult occupant protection to win its 5-star rating, the maximum rating awarded by Euro NCAP. Mondeo also achieved a very good 4-star rating for child occupant protection and was designated 2-star for pedestrian protection.

“With each new model, our quest is for the ultimate safety performance. This latest Euro NCAP 5-star rating for the new Mondeo is a further validation of our holistic approach to engineering safety into Ford vehicles and the strength of our Ford Intelligent Protection System,” said Gisbert Gaeb, Manager, Vehicle Safety, Ford of Europe. “It demonstrates emphatically that the work we devote to optimising the safety of Ford vehicles really pays off where it counts in a family car like Mondeo with significant protection for adults and children alike.”

No-Compromise Approach

Ford’s string of Euro NCAP 5-star ratings reflects a sustained, holistic engineering approach to safety engineering.

This no-compromise approach starts with a robust, protective body structure to protect the occupants in the event of a collision and is supplemented by an array of active safety technologies to help Ford drivers avoid collisions and passive safety technologies that deploy to mitigate the effects of a collision. Ford engineers devote extensive attention to detail to fine tune how these systems work together for optimal protection.

In the new Euro NCAP 5-star-rated Ford Mondeo, the basic foundation is an ultra-stiff body structure, which reduces the deformation of the passenger safety cell. The new Mondeo also introduced a new driver’s knee air bag as part of its Intelligent Protection System, which now includes seven air bags as standard equipment across the range.

Ford Intelligent Protection System

Drivers of the new Mondeo will benefit from Ford’s commitment to safety with a host of new features which enhance the car's Intelligent Protection System (IPS).

Other passive safety technologies in new Mondeo include:

• Improved driver protection through a horizontally retracting steering column
• Retracting safety pedals
• Optimised airbag deployment
• Enhanced safety belt system with pretensioners for front seat passengers
• Advanced seat design
• Advanced neck injury protection system for front seat passengers
• High-level child protection with ISOFIX

The effectiveness of the new Mondeo’s horizontally retracting steering column and knee air bag were acknowledged by Euro NCAP when the performance of the Mondeo was reviewed in detail with Ford engineers.

A number of significant new active safety technologies to provide new levels of driver control and accident avoidance are available in the new Mondeo.

In addition to the standard Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and enhanced Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) system including Electronic Brake Assist (EBA), with Mondeo Ford also has introduced a host of technologies that may significantly improve safety and customer peace of mind, including:

• Optional Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Forward Alert (FA) audio and visual collision warning system and collision mitigation by braking
• Optional Interactive Vehicle Dynamics Control (IVDC) active suspension system with Continuously Controlled Damping (CCD)
• Automatic Hazard Warning Lights Activation
• Optional Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) and Run Flat tyres
• Highly developed Advanced Front Lighting Systems (AFS)
• Optional Hill Launch Assist (HLA)
• Standard Ford EasyFuel capless refuelling system, which prevents accidentally fuelling the vehicle with the wrong type of fuel

Protecting Adults and Children

With the Mondeo result, Ford now has five vehicles rated 4-stars for child occupant protection by Euro NCAP.

“We are especially pleased with how well Mondeo performed in the Euro NCAP child occupant protection rating,” Gaeb said.

Established in 1997, Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with an independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe. Through its stringent vehicle crash testing, Euro NCAP seeks to be a catalyst for encouraging significant safety improvements to new car design. Euro NCAP is backed by five European govern­ments, the European Commission as well as motoring and consumer organisations in every EU country.

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