2008 Ford FG Falcon gets 5-star ANCAP rating
August 6, 2008 by George Skentzos
It’s official, the new Ford FG Falcon is the safest car ever made in Australia, having secured a five-star rating from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program, ANCAP.
- David Twomey
At a well-attended media conference today the President of Ford Australia, Mr Bill Osborne, said the industry first was a vindication of the company’s faith in the safety of the new FG Falcon, all the more so because it had been secured by the base model Falcon XT, which does not have curtain airbags as standard.
The ANCAP rating will apply to all petrol-engined models of the Falcon sedan, including the V8, but does not apply to the Utility, which must be tested separately, or E-Gas powered models, which currently do not have Dynamic Stability Control, Ford’s version of ESC, fitted.
Mr Osborne told CarAdvice that one of Ford’s top engineering priorities was to get DSC into the E-Gas Falcon and he expected this would have been achieved by early next year.
The E-Gas Falcon is being increasingly marketed by Ford, not just as a fleet vehicle, but as a cost effective option for families who want to stay in a large car but are concerned about growing fuel costs.
“The petrol FG Falcon sedan range has been judged by ANCAP as being the safety leader amongst locally-manufactured vehicles, cementing Ford’s long standing reputation for safety leadership in Australia,” Mr Osborne said.
“We design our cars to deliver real-world safety benefits for our customers. This result is a resounding third party endorsement of the extensive safety development program undertaken for the all-new FG Falcon.
“Not only is the FG Falcon the safest vehicle ever produced in this country, it is also competitive with the safest sedans in the world.
“These safety test results add further validation to the extensive crash simulation process and physical crash test program conducted by Ford Australia for the FG Falcon, which was the most comprehensive in the company’s history.”
Mr Osborne said the ANCAP result vindicated Ford’s own testing in which more than 38 different vehicle crash modes were investigated during the course of the vehicle’s development, with 426 full vehicle-representative physical crash tests and more than 5000 start-of-the-art simulated crash tests completed.
The Chair of ANCAP, Mr Lauchlan McIntosh was on hand to congratulate Ford and to praise the Falcon which he said “now leads the pack in safety for the large Australian-made family car.”
He said ANCAP now had high expectations that this achievement would encourage other manufacturers to strive to build five-star cars.
When tested soon after release the Holden Commodore scored 27.5 points and got a four star rating, while the Toyota Aurion scored 30 points and also got four stars.
Mr McIntosh said the Falcon scored a very commendable 34.61 points out of a possible 37 points for the ANCAP test, and this was the highest score ever by an Australian made car “by a long margin.”
However it was not all good news for the Falcon with the FG Falcon scoring a relatively average two stars for pedestrian safety out of a possible four.
Mr McIntosh said; “This is an improvement on the previous Falcon, but there is still plenty of room for improving pedestrian protection.”
For the Falcon to be in the running for the five-star rating Ford had to donate an additional crash test vehicle to ANCAP so the challenging Pole Test could be conducted.
Mr Osborne said at the launch of the FG Falcon that a vehicle would be made available for this test, which was a departure from the previous attitude of Australian car manufacturers, which have previously refused to provide the extra vehicle for the Pole Test.
The five-star score by the Falcon is also a strong vindication of Ford’s claims that it did not need to offer curtain airbags as standard in the base XT to achieve the safety rating.
The vehicle tested was fitted with what Ford calls a ‘chest/head’ side airbag and this was sufficient for the car to win the rating.
Previously ANCAP has indicated that cars without a curtain airbag, which protects the upper areas of both front and rear passengers, had little chance of achieving a five-star rating.
Mr McIntosh said the Ford had set a new standard and it may mean that in future ANCAP would have to look at an additional rating, beyond five-stars, for vehicles with curtain airbags.
Ford Australia Vice President of Product Development Trevor Worthington said a world-class body structure and comprehensive suite of active and passive safety features had given the Falcon the opportunity to score a five-star safety rating.
He said the company’s long held reputation for designing vehicles to deliver innovative real-world safety benefits ensured that the safety development program for the new Falcon has remained a step ahead of growing consumer awareness of the importance of vehicle safety.
Mr Osborne told CarAdvice that Ford would be promoting the five-star rating of the Falcon by displaying an ANCAP sticker on all vehicles, and this would be added to other five-star vehicles in the Ford fleet, including Focus and Mondeo.
He said safety would be the point-of-difference that Ford would offer the Australian buying public.
He added that while the large-car segment of the market was struggling Ford was seeing growing sales for its entrant in the market and he expected even stronger success in the future, on the back of the Falcon’s excellent safety rating.
Print it: 
Fred you say ‘facts’. Here is a fact, Industry figures have shown 55% of Falcons need to return to dealership for unscheduled maintenance within 5 months of sale. Fords in general faired poorly while Toyotas topped a number of categories. What is your ‘fact’ to the contrary of this one. I note ‘oh my Ford lasted 300,000kms’ or ‘oh oh taxis last ages’ is NOT a fact it is heresay.
TP, fact is your opinion of reliability is different to everybody else’s. Those surveys NEVER say what the unscheduled maintenence is. So if someone kicks off a bit of trim is that a reliability issue? No but it can be a warranty claim. Please stop clutching at straws because they must be running out soon.
Spam word -> XR8 :D
@ wheelnut,people who drive toyotas need to look at crash rating because from what ive read their stability control systems are among the worst in the automotive world,they either cut in way too early or not at all.Look what happened at WHEELS coty testing last year. Sounds like they need all the protection they can get! LOL
TP, you really have no other intention but to rubbish every make and talk up Toymotor at any opportunity.
Fact is Toyota are NOT the reliable, well built vehicles you claim they are. Camry/Aurion interior plastics are the worst of all the large locals, let alone European makes.
Cost cutting with Toyotas is also laughable, skinny tyres on practically every car, no ESP on Corolla, poor door alignment on Aurion/Camry’s, LIVE AXLE ON PRADO AND LANDCRUISER!! Very modern indeed..
THEY ARE ALL FACTS! You work for Toyota and therefore will rubbish other makes.
YOUR POSTS ARE MEANINGLESS DRIBBLE WITH NO CREDIBILITY.
What “industry figures” are you refering to TP? Your own created ones?
Couldn’t help myself, found this on Toyota Avalon:
Pros: None
Cons: A ver bland looking car with poor handling and lots of squeeks and rattles from bad quality control. Engine uses lots of petrol (about 14L/100km)
Overall: If you like driving bland and uninspired cars and believe that a car is simply to get you from A to B and that its not about enjoying the ride, then this cars is for you. This car is really mediocre from its poor exterior styling to the handling which gives almost no feedback to the driver. The interior is boring and plain, with seats that are to soft and give nearly no support to the very poor quality stereo system with speakers which crackle all to often while they are in use. THe build quality is average and there is lots of rust on mine and i never go near the beach, plus the constant rattle i have had since new, which the dealer states it is normal for this car and refused to do anything about udner warranty.
Glen yes they did say what the service was, predominantly engine problems!
Above poster, so can I buy a brand new Avalon? NO. Might I add we are talking mainly reliability here, I want to see a decent source with some decent support which shows Toyotas aernt reliable.
Bavarian Missile Says: Toyota Paul I think your just a little bitter that Toyota chose not to spend the extra $100,000 they estimated it would cost to do the pole test,with Toyota having all that extra cash to spare dont you think it a little strange they didnt take it up to get that extra STAR
It is a little odd when considering when ANCrAP crash tested the VE Commodore; Holden only provided 4 cars because the rest of production was being sent to dealers as demo models prior to its release.. and they passed the first 4 tests.. [100% sucess]
Then in the same series of tests Toyota provided 5 Aurions they failed the final pole test [80% success]
However; due to a loop-hole in ANCrAps regulations Toyota were able to provide extra cars to do the tests which they did it took an extra 2 cars to pass the last test and get a marginally higher better rating than the VE Commodore
I believe car companies shouldn’t have to pay to provide the cars to ANCrAP.. it should be the Insurance Companies as they use the data more inorder to calculate repair csts and set premiims etc.
The cars could then be donated to TAFE Colleges around Australia for Automotive Apprentices to rebuild and repair; which they then sell at Auction.
That way it becomes a tax deduction for the insurance companies and can provide TAFE colleges with extra funding
TP that is a dead set utter lie. You show me where they say that, I want a URL so I can look at it myself because I read that article and in NO PLACE did it ever mention what faults were reported so now I know for a FACT where you pull all your “facts”.
Wheelnut, the ANCAP tests are just a set standard test for everycar which compares a certain vehicles safety in as close a situation to every other car ever tested, that is the only fair way. Yes they don’t take into effect the reactions of the driver but the tests are done on a worse case scenario which is no driver reaction. Car manufacturer’s are allowed to resubmit cars for a better rating after making modifications for improved safety as long as those modifications are on the production models as well.
By the way those cars are pretty much right offs after the test and noone in their right mind would purchase a repaired one. The undamaged parts are stripped and sold to wreckers or destroyed depending on the policy of the manufacturer.
Hey Glen sent you a PM on the Forum !
Industry figures have shown 62% of Toyota need to return to dealership for unscheduled maintenance within 5 months of sale. Toyota in general faired poorly while Fords and Holdens topped a number of categories. What is your ‘fact’ to the contrary of this one TP.
Thanks Glen – but given the miraculous work the TAFE boys have done with V8 Supercars at Bathurst over the years… I think that they wouls still be relatively safe and reliable cars.
Some of the cars the TAFE boys get on a Thursday or Friday Arvo look like they’ve been ripped open with a can opener yet they manage to get the car back in shape with all the sponsors logos etc on them etc in time to make it on to the grid on Sunday morning – and most of them still manage finish the race [if not complete at leat 75%]
Wheelnut, yes those TAFE guys do miracles but remember those cars are built much stronger than road cars because of roll cages and other safety equipment. Plus are also built to be repaired quickly, not necessarily tidy work but good enough so the car goes. In those ANCAP tests the passenger cells do buckle, not much visually but enough to make them near on impossible to repair and straighten.
They may be safe enough to drive but for one noone would buy a car known to be in an ANCAP crash test, plus the costs to repair those cars would be more than to buy another one.
Ive already sent you one back BM
Cool thanks for the email address sent you a reply!
thats right wheelnut,
do you remember how jason bright nearly wrote off the pirtek falcon in practice in 1998, yet it got put back together and he went on to win the race with richards???
i cant remember how long the TAFE guys have been helping out for though…..
Still waiting for your reliable source to prove your figures Turd Pool..
Got a ride in an avalon taxi the other day, thought i was gunna fall off the seat! First time i felt unsafe in a taxi,even the bloke driving it said it was uncomfortable
Well done to Ford, we KNEW it was going to get a 5-star-rating, pretty much every new car these days does [China excl.!]
Like to see -
VE Commodore GLOVEBOX -v- FG Falcon GLOVEBOX
That would be a good test and we can finally see who is the God of GLOVEBOX’s
Cheers
F-0
Well done Ford! :mrgreen: Next time I ever have to ride in a Taxi it better be an FG Falcon not a BF/BF or as Falcodore said, a Toyota.
Congrats to Ford and the 5 star FG Falcon, hopefully it will be highly advertised, i would buy one myself, but iam waiting for the updated Territory, now if that got 5 stars too wouldnt that be great. Keep it up and hopefully we can save our great Aussie icon in motor manufacturing