Ford Fiesta Earns 2010 Top Safety Pick
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27th August, 2010
The 2011 Ford Fiesta is America's first mini-car to
earn a Top Safety Pick from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) since the introduction
of a new roof strength test. The award applies to vehicles built after July 2010.
The Fiesta is the eighth Ford Motor Company vehicle to earn the Institute's top designation –
breaking a tie with Toyota for the most “Top Safety Picks” of any auto maker.
Fiesta’s extensive use of high-strength steels, Trinity front crash structure, Side Protection And
Cabin Enhancement (SPACE) Architecture® and advanced airbag technologies helped the car perform well
in IIHS testing. Fiesta’s energy-absorbing body structure is optimised for strength and stiffness and
designed to absorb and redirect crash forces away from the passenger compartment. Plus, it features
the most standard airbags in its segment, as well as standard electronic stability control – a
must-have feature for Top Safety Pick eligibility.
“Fiesta is proof that a small car can deliver big safety, and earning a Top Safety Pick further
demonstrates Ford’s commitment to providing all of our customers with world-class crash
protection,” said Sue Cischke, Ford’s group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and
Safety Engineering. “Fiesta combines rigidity and more airbags – smartly deployed – than its
competition, as well as standard stability control.”
Strong and stylish
Beneath Fiesta’s stylish exterior is a robust structure, crafted from high-strength steels
engineered to preserve quality and enhance driver and passenger safety. Fiesta uses significant cold-
and hot-formed high-strength steel in the body structure. These components add rigidity and save
weight, increasing structural efficiency while also helping Fiesta deliver class-leading fuel
efficiency, which is achieved with Ford’s new six-speed PowerShift automatic transmission.
More than 55 per cent of Fiesta’s body structure uses these high-strength or ultra-high-strength
steels in the floor structure, front rails, beams and in the ultra-rigid, integrated body
reinforcement ring designed to help better protect occupants in side impacts.
Fiesta A- and B-pillars are fashioned from ultra-high-strength aluminised boron steel, adding
robustness while allowing for slim width and rake to honour Fiesta’s distinctive design.
Rocker panels – with welded baffles to absorb impact – also are crafted from very high-strength,
dual-phase steels, known for their energy-absorption qualities. The side roof arch employs dual-phase
steel construction. The under-floor support beams – so-called sled runners – and lateral floor
reinforcements also use high-strength, dual-phase steel. These light but strong metals in Fiesta’s
robust body shell help enhance crash protection by adding strength, rigidity and durability.
Segment-busting safety
The Fiesta body shell is well equipped with safety features to help protect its occupants in the
event of a collision, including the most standard airbags in the segment.
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Fiesta offers a segment-exclusive driver’s knee airbag, developed to help reduce lower leg injuries
in the event of a frontal collision and to work together with other safety features. The knee airbag
joins a suite of Fiesta safety features including dual-stage first-row airbags, side-impact airbags and
side curtain airbags. A knee airbag won’t be found in Honda Fit, Nissan Versa or Toyota Yaris. Move up
to Civic, Sentra and Corolla and you still won’t find a driver’s knee airbag.
“Smart” Passenger Occupant Detection System (PODS) sensors determine occupant weight and seat belt
status to optimise deployment force. Smart sensors include the class-exclusive side-impact sensor that
uses pressure to react up to 30 per cent faster than previous sensor offerings.
Also available on the Fiesta is Ford’s AdvanceTrac® with ESC (electronic stability control), which
uses sensors to detect and measure yaw, or side-to-side skidding conditions, by monitoring vehicle speed,
throttle position and steering wheel angle. When AdvanceTrac senses wheel slip, engine torque is reduced
and braking is applied where needed to help the driver keep the car tracking on its intended path.
“Fiesta sets a new benchmark for small car safety,” Cischke said. “Fiesta is a clear example
that making a safe car doesn’t mean making a large car or a heavy car. Fiesta has it all; safety, good
design and driving character.”
NOTE: The specifications of the Ford Fiesta mentioned in this news story relate to the model
sold in the USA. Specifications vary between markets.
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