ANCAP has revealed the safety rating for the latest Ford Mustang.
Overall, the 2-door muscle car coupe generated a low two star rating, with safety assist, child occupant and pedestrian protection being major issues.
The tested model of Ford Mustang was introduced in Australia and New Zealand in December 2015, with the rating based on tests conducted by Euro ANCAP applying to the V8 Fastback.
Out of the 12 possible points achievable for safety assist, the Mustang managed to obtain two (16 percent out of 100). The lack of lane support and speed assistance features were the main contributor to the low score in this category.
Child occupant protection achieved only 15.8 out of 49 points, while pedestrian protection garnered a pass of 27.0 out of 42.
A serious concern for the vehicle was the full width frontal test which reveal serious risk of head, chest and leg injury for the rear passenger.
Insufficient inflation of both the driver and front passenger airbags was also an issue, with tests revealing impact would cause the drivers head to make serious contact with the steering wheel and the same for front passenger with the dashboard.
ANCAP CEO James Goodwin was disappointed with the results. He said ANCAP expects all new cars to be 5 stars, regardless of whether a model is a sports car or not.
“It’s disappointing speed assistance systems, lane support systems, autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning and rear seat belt reminders are all missing from the Mustang.
“This rating should not come as a surprise to Ford as we maintain strong relationships with vehicle brands and they are informed on the development of our protocols.
“I would encourage Ford to swiftly introduce design and production changes to improve its safety performance.”
The Ford Mustang EcoBoost Fastback starts at $50,000 while its GT counterpart comes in at $62,000.
One repairer commenting on the Paint & Panel facebook page said that he had seen four total loss Mustangs already.