Mustang reaches for the stars

Looks like Mustang buyers will still have to put style before safety.

Ford’s new and improved Pony car still falls short in crash tests, scoring just three out of a possible five stars.

The previous model scored two.

In spite of its safety shortcomings, the Mustang continues to sell its socks off.

Ford has revised the specification of its Mustang for the right-hand-drive Australian and New Zealand markets after the publication of a two-star ANCAP safety rating in January 2017.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB), Forward collision warning (FCW) and Lane support system (LSS) have all been added to the car.

These changes have lifted its Safety Assist score from 16 to 61 per cent, along with an increased Pedestrian Protection score, from 64 to 78 per cent.

Structurally however, the revised Mustang is identical to the car that was originally tested.

Because of this ANCAP’s James Goodwin said it still falls short of expectations in the areas of Adult Occupant and Child Occupant Protection.

“The inclusion of driver assistance aids such as AEB and lane keep assist is a definite step in the right direction, yet these upgrades have neglected to address the injury risk posed to rear seat occupants as well as whiplash protection,” Mr Goodwin said.

The revised Ford Mustang enters Australian and New Zealand markets 12 months after revised left-hand-drive models were made available for the European market.