The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) has named the Ford Focus as the safest vehicle in the small-family car segment for getting a five-star crash test rating and for its award-winning advanced safety technology.
The Focus's five-star rating was achieved through its adult-occupant safety rating of 92 percent, a child-occupant rating of 82 percent, a pedestrian score of 72 percent and a safety assist rating of 71 percent.
What's worth noting, however, is that the vehicle received four Euro NCAP awards for advanced safety features, making it a record for a mass market car like the Focus. These features are:
• Driver Alert, which was designed to detect driver fatigue;
• Forward Alert, which uses radar technology to scan the road ahead and alerts the driver of potential collision;
• Active City Stop, which helps to avoid or mitigate accidents at low speeds; and
• Lane Keeping Aid, which warns and assists drivers who unintentionally stray from their lane.
"This award has special meaning because designing and building the safest vehicles possible is a core value at Ford," said Stephen Odell, chairman and chief executive for Ford of Europe. "The Focus exemplifies our approach to design cars that both help drivers avoid accidents and protect them when one is inevitable."
In October 2011, the all-new Ford Ranger also received Euro NCAP's maximum five-star rating, making it the first pickup truck to achieve the said rating under the organization's crash-test protocol.
