Ford, Hyundai and Toyota Lead the Way to Making Safer and Greener Cars
Ford Mustang Mach-E: Green and Safe
Today, Green NCAP publishes the environmental rating of Ford’s first electric SUV; the Mustang Mach-E. This clean and green five-star crossover is not, as its name might suggest, an electrified American Pony car but rather a reworked C2-platform vehicle similar to Ford’s 4th generation Puma and 3rd generation Kuga. It’s definitely a Ford, but Mustang-teased and a key competitor to Tesla’s Model Y and the Audi Q4 e-tron.
Since 2019, Green NCAP publishes overall green star ratings that summarise a vehicle’s performance in energy efficiency (Energy Efficiency Index), local pollutant emissions (Clean Air Index), and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG Index). The aim of the programme is to promote cars that cut pollutants and greenhouse gasses and, at the same time, operate at lowest fossil fuel consumption and/or highest energy efficiency under real-world conditions.
Being full electric, the Mach-E scored maximum points for the Clean Air Index and the Greenhouse Gas Index as emissions at the tailpipe are zero, showing its near zero impact on the local environment. Some energy is lost during the WLTC+ cold ambient temperature test (-7°C) and the high-load, motorway-like, BAB130 test, resulting in a 9.4 out of 10 score on Energy Efficiency. The worldwide-harmonised Light-duty-vehicle Test Cycle (WLTC) is a laboratory test where the car is started from cold. The higher the efficiency, the more kilometres can be driven on the same battery charge and the more economical the driving.
Overall, the MACH-E emerges with a maximum 5 star rating, a recommended green choice for consumers.
Ford, Hyundai and Toyota Lead the Way to Making Safer and Greener Choices
Today, Euro NCAP releases safety ratings for five new cars. The Ford Mustang Mach-E, Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and TUCSON and the Toyota Yaris Cross all achieve a top rating of five stars, while the new Hyundai BAYON is awarded four stars.
Ford’s new all-electric crossover SUV, the Mustang Mach-E, bears little resemblance to the 5-litre muscle car with which it shares its name. While its sports-car stablemate struggled to gain three stars in 2017, the Mustang Mach-E firmly secures a top five-star rating against the latest test requirements. The car comes equipped with a centre airbag, deployable bonnet for vulnerable road user protection and a host of advanced driver assistance features, offering high levels of driver support and crash prevention all around. Having simultaneously achieved a five-star rating by the environmental test programme Green NCAP, Ford demonstrates that fighting climate change will not stand in their way of improving road safety.
Hyundai impresses with three new models in this publication, the all-electric IONIQ 5 and TUCSON, gaining 5-star ratings and Hyundai Bayon achieving 4 stars. Although the TUCSON only just clears the hurdle in Safety Assist to get into five-star territory, both IONIQ 5 and TUCSON display good all-round safety. The crossover SUV Bayon, fighting its way into an already overcrowded and highly competitive segment, lacks the centre airbag that is standard in IONIQ 5 and TUSCON. Nevertheless, the Bayon comes with robust crash protection and crash-avoidance features which help to secure it a creditable four-star rating.
The Toyota Yaris Cross follows hot on the heels of the Mirai and Yaris with another five-star rating. The car, available at petrol and HEV petrol, was tested partly in Australia and Europe, two important markets for the Yaris Cross. The result is published in collaboration with sister organisation ANCAP.
In addition to its traditional safety crash and safety tests, Euro NCAP retested two light commercial vans: the Ford Transit and the Ford Transit Custom, after Ford made seat belt reminders as standard for all occupants across the European market. This now results in two Gold Winners in our Commercial Van ranking.
Source: EuroNCAP Europe
