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2011 Ford Fiesta Gets IIHS Top Safety Pick, First Subcompact To Do So

 
1,591 views Aug 26, 2010
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2011 Ford Fiesta IIHS crash tests

2011 Ford Fiesta IIHS crash tests

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You've probably heard it through the years: "I'd love to drive a small car but, you know, they're just not safe."

Sometimes it's followed by: "That's why I got a [insert name of gigantic SUV], to protect my family." (Which isn't necessarily true.)

But now you can conclusively rebut those tired old last-century arguments. The new 2011 Ford Fiesta is the first subcompact to get the coveted Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) since new, tougher roof-crush standards were added to its tests.

2011 Ford Fiesta IIHS crash tests

2011 Ford Fiesta IIHS crash tests

Enlarge Photo

2011 Ford Fiesta

2011 Ford Fiesta

Enlarge Photo

Or in the words of Sue Cischke, group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering at Ford, "Fiesta is proof that a small car can deliver big safety."

In adapting the European designed Fiesta for the U.S. market--and its focus on crash safety--Ford replaced many structural members with a variety of types of high-strength steel. More than half its body structure uses high- or ultra-high-strength steels.

While a small car by U.S. standards, the Fiesta's passenger cell directs crash energy away from passengers.

The 2011 Ford Fiesta also comes standard with a remarkable seven airbags: dual-stage first-row airbags, side-impact airbags, side curtain airbags, and a class-exclusive driver's knee airbag. 

[Ford Motor Co.]





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Comment (1)

  1. By Tony Posted: 8/26/2010 2:47pm PDT

    Why do people still hang on to the old last-century arguments of large and heavy cars being safer than small and light cars? Beacuse they remember something about Newton's second law of motion (F=ma). While it is possible to improve safety of a small car through good engineering, it is going to come up short if it is involved in a head on collision with a heavy SUV.
     
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