Considered more stringent than the ASEAN NCAP, the Ranger achieved strong results in adult occupancy protection (AOP) for frontal offset, side-impact, and far-side impact tests. It was awarded the maximum rating of “good” for child occupant protection (COP) in frontal offset and side-impact collisions too.

Given that the Everest shares the Ranger’s basic structure, ANCAP also awarded the 7-seater mid-sized SUV with the perfect rating based on technical information provided by Ford.

In order to merit the 5-star safety rating, the Ranger and Everest variant must be equipped with Ford’s updated driver assist system which offers enhanced pre-collision assist with automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist that can detect unmarked road edges. These improvements were rolled out as a complimentary update (at least in Australia) just this August.

ANCAP’s current testing protocols are the strictest in the organization’s history, making it harder to achieve a five-star rating and now include the testing of AEB performance at junctions between vehicles and passengers. Ranger and Everest’s new forward-facing wide-view camera were a key factor in helping the vehicles score highly in ANCAP’s active safety testing.

Ford is particularly proud of the next-generation Ranger and Everest’s development.

At their core is an immensely strong body that uses high-strength materials to create a ‘safety cell’ to protect occupants. The placement of high-strength steels in the A-pillar, B-pillar, and C-pillar, as well as door sills, are to ensure that crash loads are directed away from occupants.

To achieve high levels of safety and meet Ford’s demanding in-house requirements, Ford engineers used both analytical virtual testing and physical testing.

More than 150 computer-aided engineering (CAE) next-generation Everest and Ranger models were built and analyzed, each looking at crash scenarios as diverse as frontal offset, rear impact, and side impacts. Also, dozens of occupant impact scenarios were carried out to ensure the protection of a wide range of occupant statures (adults and children), as well as low-speed crashes, the kind you might experience in a car park, to determine the repairability of minor components.

Out in the real world, both vehicles underwent dozens of real-world crash tests, ranging from shopping trolley impacts to high-speed simulated large animal dummies and car-to-car impacts. In all, Ford engineers conducted more than 100 full vehicle crash tests, combined with hundreds of physical sled tests that simulate a full vehicle with occupants. This was supported by hundreds of sub-system and component safety-related tests.