The New Ford Puma Receives Five Stars In Latest Euro NCAP Safety Tests

19/12/2019 10:38 Share

In the latest Euro NCAP safety tests, the Ford Puma was awarded an impressive five-star rating.

The Euro NCAP safety test features rigorous assessments to determine how well vehicles perform in certain crash scenarios (frontal, rear and side tests) regarding the safety of the passengers. Areas of the vehicle that are assessed include Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection and Safety Assist features.

The overall scores for each area for the Puma were:

Adult Occupant Protection: 94%

Child Occupant Protection: 84%

Vulnerable Road Users: 77%

Safety Assist: 74%

Let’s review these scores in more depth.

Adult Occupant Protection

The Ford Puma performed well in the frontal offset test, with the passenger compartment remaining stable and the driver and passenger receiving good protection to their knees and femurs. It was also clear that these results would be similar if the dummies were different sizes and sat in different positions. The only area with marginal protection was the driver’s chest.

Full marks were awarded in both side barrier tests, including the most severe side test, due to all critical body areas being protected well.

Furthermore, whiplash injuries were also assessed. The head restraints and front seats provided good protection in a scenario whereby the car was hit from behind, whilst the back seats also provided good protection from whiplash injuries too.

Finally, the AEB (Autonomous Emergency Braking) system, which is installed in the Ford Puma, contribute to protecting passengers from whiplash injuries and performed well at low speeds, which is the most common driving situation in which whiplash injuries happen. In the majority of the crash tests, collisions were avoided due to this system.

Child Occupant Protection

When assessing Child Occupant Protection, two dummies (6-year-old and 10-year-old) are used in the vehicle.

The Puma scored 84% for this section of the test, with all critical areas of the body being protected well in both the front and side barrier tests.

The Puma can also accommodate a rear-ward facing child seat in the front passenger seat, whilst the airbag is disabled, and other restraint types that are compatible with the Puma can be installed securely and safely.

Vulnerable Road Users

Generally, the bonnet of the Puma did provide good/adequate protection to the head of a pedestrian, however, there were poor recordings found around the windscreen pillars and the base of the windscreen.

As for the bumper, this provided good protection to the legs and pelvis area of the pedestrian and scored well in all test locations.

Finally, the AEB system can also detect roadside hazards, which was tested to see how well this performed. The majority of collisions were avoided or impact lessened, meaning the Puma’s system received a good rating.

Safety Assist

Other safety features included in the Ford Puma were also acknowledged and these included:

- Seatbelt Reminder System
- Lane Assist
- Speed Assistance System

Finally, the AEB system was tested to see how well it performed when other vehicles were driving at faster speeds, and the results highlighted good performance.