I dunno, the last thing I think about when I'm driving a you beaut' 2017 Muzza is crashing the bloody thing.
But I guess it's going to happen; I would be interested to know what the current accident rating is for the Mustang? Compared to the rest, I wonder if the fact that it's aimed at the enthusiast driver may have a bearing on the number of crashes experienced.
What's the bet it's a figure we'll never see!
So, the car has been in Oz for almost two years now with no ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program rating) and now that the Europeans have rated the car (EURO NCAP), Australia will be adopting that rating.
The problem is, it's a worrying two out of possible five stars. Not the sort of thing you'd expect of a modern car from a major manufacturer, but there you have it.
To the enthusiast, the Mustang is more about the drive than the tech and for a lot of us where the Mustang scores poorly we couldn't care less. There's virtually no driver aids, for example; no speed assistance, no lane departure warning, autonomous emergency braking and forward collision warning. Crickey - you have to drive the car yourself and pay full attention - Isn't that a novel idea!
The last car to receive an ANCAP rating of just two stars was the Chinese Chery J11 in 2011.
In all seriousness though, there are some concerns but a two-star rating doesn't mean it's necessarily unsafe, it's just that the vast majority of new cars have a higher rating.
The airbag deployment system needs attention, both driver and passenger made contact with the car's interior before the bags fully inflated. Fixing that is not optional.
More troubling is the Mustang's structural performance results; rear passengers may be in for a rough time in a full frontal collision with a greater risk of severe head, chest and leg injuries than acceptable along with front airbag deployment issues - it doesn't paint a pretty picture.
Ford Australia is insisting the car is indeed safe and meets or exceeds all global safety standards. Interestingly the NHTSA NCAP (the US version of ANCAP) awarded the Mustang a five-star rating. How, why and where the rules differ between NCAP ratings would make for interesting reading.
It doesn't change how I feel about the current Mustang, I still love it and if money were no object one would be in my garage already. The updated MY 2018 Mustang is said to address most of the safety concerns raised by the poor EURO NCAP results. If you find the results too troubling and you're in the market for a new Mustang, maybe you should wait 'till mid-2018 as a safe bet.
Remember, the most reliable driving aid we have is not to drive like a NONG! Keep a keen eye out for said nongs, which are unfortunately out there and there's a good chance you'll avoid a collision.
