- Ford bested Toyota with the highest number of Top Safety Picks.
- The Fiesta features stability control, a strong frame architecture and a large number of airbags.
- Other Ford Top Safety Picks include the Ford Fusion and Flex, the Mercury Milan and Lincoln's MKS and MKZ.
DEARBORN, Michigan — The 2011 Ford Fiesta has earned Top Safety Pick honors from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the first minicar to earn the designation. The award also puts Ford ahead of Toyota for earning the most Top Safety Picks — eight — of any auto company, Ford notes.
The 2011 Fiesta earned the Top Safety Pick moniker by featuring standard stability control, Side Protection and Cabin Enhancement (SPACE) architecture and an impressive number of airbags including a driver's knee airbag, dual-stage first-row airbags and side-impact and side curtain airbags.
Both sedan and hatchback models earned the Good rating from IIHS in its frontal-offset, side impact, roof strength and rear crash protection/head restraint tests. The agency noted that the Fiesta's Top Safety Pick designation applies to Fiestas built after July, when Ford strengthened the outside door handles to "minimize the possibility of doors opening in side-impact crashes."
The other Ford products with the Top Safety Pick award are the Ford Flex Fusion and Taurus, the Mercury Milan, and the Lincoln MKS,MKT and MKZ.
Inside Line says: Another feather in Ford's cap as the company's lineup is looking increasingly strong. — Laura Sky Brown, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
famof3kids says:
12:29 PM, 09/09/2010
Was that the car horn I heard blowing...and the hazard lights flashing, after impact?
Is that a new feature? I haven't read or heard anything about that...
rollk says:
05:26 PM, 09/06/2010
Lol, could they not ask the guys in the background to take a 3min coffee break while filming?
charlesb says:
10:55 PM, 09/02/2010
Subcompacts are not the best choice if you plan on having an accident.
tbone85 says:
08:37 PM, 08/31/2010
I think most consumers can figure out that the rating is comparing a car with cars in it's own category. By that argument the Taurus couldn't be considered safe until after it's banged against a Hummer.
fhwulala says:
08:21 PM, 08/30/2010
LOL rating this car as a top safety pick with this lousy test is a joke.
Remember the test that rendered all the best selling "foreign" subcompacts as poor in safety rating?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLfK35O91gE
Hit a Fiesta against the Taurus (or Aveo vs. the Malibu), then let's talk about safety.
It's a nice try though, but most consumers are not dumb enough to make decisions based on this.
shouldermonkey says:
09:31 PM, 08/27/2010
Gonna get THAT!
j33p says:
07:27 PM, 08/27/2010
***** Nice!
mustang5507 says:
01:48 PM, 08/27/2010
That was one of the best performing frames I've seen in a very long time. Absolute best I've seen for a subcompact. Good job, Ford.
easym1 says:
12:01 PM, 08/27/2010
That's a good start...now, let's focus on reliability and then I'll consider it.