April 2011

Ford Fiesta Earns Top Safety Ratings ’Round the World

Buying a car is a big and important decision. Of all the things you consider when choosing the right car for you—comfort, style, performance, reliability, connectivity to name just a few—the one thing that may be most important of all is safety. Accidents happen, even to the most experienced drivers, so you want a car that is engineered and built for safety through and through. That’s the Ford Fiesta.
 
The Ford Fiesta is the only car in its segment to earn a Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) under its new, more stringent test standards.
 
In fact, the Ford Fiesta is the first and only car in its segment to earn top crash test ratings in Europe, China and the Australian/New Zealand markets. This fact helps explain why the Fiesta, with its trendsetting style and great fuel economy, has reached 1 million sales in Europe—it’s the best-selling small car in Europe for the past two years—with total worldwide sales of 1,140,000.
 
In California, where drivers practically live in their cars, the Fiesta has helped Ford earn its highest market share since 2006 with the lion’s share of sales coming in the sprawling Los Angeles area.
 
Safety, it seems, is the most basic and universal of driver priorities.
 
“Ford is committed to safety including our efforts to deliver top crash test ratings that customers look to when choosing new vehicles,” said Sue Cischke, Group Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety. “Fiesta is the latest example of that safety commitment, and shows that a small, fuel-efficient car can deliver top safety.”
 
Ford safety engineers from around the world collaborated on the Fiesta, building a car that is not only great fun to drive, but also one that is built to meet the most demanding safety requirements in countries and driving conditions around the globe.
 
Beneath its stylish surface, more than 55 percent of the Fiesta’s body is made from ultra-high-strength steel including the use of lightweight, high-strength boron steel in passenger safety zones. Safety features include dual-stage first-row airbags, side-impact airbags, side-curtain airbags and, an option available exclusively on the Fiesta in the small car segment, a driver’s knee airbag to help reduce lower-leg injuries in frontal crashes.
 
Ford’s “Smart” Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) uses sensors to determine an occupant’s weight and seatbelt status, then automatically sets the airbag deployment force for maximum effectiveness. Fiesta’s class-exclusive “smart” sensors monitor pressure forces from side impacts to deploy airbags 30 percent faster than conventional airbag systems that monitor acceleration.
 
“The global safety ratings provide another proof point that the all-new Fiesta is redefining what a small car can be,” said Matt Niesluchowski, Ford Safety Manager. “The new Fiesta brings outstanding driving dynamics and fuel economy, unparalleled connectivity and safety leadership on a worldwide scale.”