The five-star rating applies to all FG Falcon utes that have head and chest-protecting side airbags, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) and a floor-mounted gear lever. These airbags and DSC are standard on Falcon XR6 and XR6 Turbo utes and available as options on Falcon XL and R6 variants.
The Falcon utility achieved the highest score ever recorded by any utility in Australia. It scored 14.62 out of 16 in the frontal offset crash test, with ANCAP reporting that the passenger compartment "was in excellent shape after the test".
A near-perfect score of 15.96 out of 16 was recorded for the side impact crash test.
Ford Australia says the safety test result is further validation of the strength of Ford's continual design and engineering improvement as the Ford Territory range was also awarded a five-star ANCAP safety rating during testing carried out earlier in the year.
The Falcon ute is fitted with Ford's Intelligent Safety System. This is a combination of the latest generation safety devices and electronic management tools and state-of-the-art restraint systems. Intelligent monitoring of crash severity and occupant positioning is particularly impressive. No other Australian-built vehicle incorporates advanced crash sensors such as those fitted on the FG Falcon.
As an example, highly technical door pressure sensors and dual upfront sensors provide early detection of potential crash incidents. These sensors literally hear the event occurring through pressure waves and, amazingly, do so before the panels even start to deform, making detection of crash situations close to instantaneous.
The sensors also provide enhanced discrimination between different types of crash events to determine the level of response required. Appropriate safety responses for each individual situation are then activated according to incident severity, positioning of occupants and seat belt usage. With most crash events occurring in less than 100 milliseconds, the ability to rapidly differentiate between types of events is extremely important.
In order to ensure appropriate response levels, 'abuse' testing has been conducted on the vehicle to calibrate the sensors not to activate the airbags and other safety measures in the case of non-crash related incidents. Ford even made sure that shopping trolleys running into the doors will not indicate that the ute has been involved in a crash.
The addition of the FG Falcon ute to the five-star ANCAP list means that Ford's entire Australian manufactured vehicle range is now either five-star rated by ANCAP, or is five-star capable if the correct options are specified by a buyer.
The complete Ford Falcon commercial range, with prices (excluding dealer and government charges) is:
XL Cab Chassis: $31,095 (manual)
XL Ute: SSB (6M) - $31,395 (manual)
R6 Cab Chassis: $33,095 (manual)
R6 Ute: $33,395 (manual)
XR6 Cab Chassis: $37,890 (manual)
XR6 Ute: $38,190 (manual)
XR6 Turbo Ute: $42,190 (manual) |
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