MY24.50 Australian Mustang S650 Reviews

[bfets]

From the man who condemned the Mustang back when it arrived in 2015/2016, something along the lines of "I'll never drive another Mustang.................."

10 years can change many things

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[DFB5.0]

I remember when that ANCAP 2-star rating blew up in the media because after (only) a years wait, my car arrived at the dealer that same week.

At the time, the Mustang was in very high demand, every car that came into the country was already sold, no floor stock. Very different to now where there are actually cars on the lot without names on them. Those early S550 sales were so successful that ANCAP decided it needed to be crash tested. Ford refused to give them a car for testing, so ANCAP ended up having to buy one (at the taxpayers expense). What ended up playing out was a deliberate vendetta against Ford, a tit for tat situation for refusing them a car, and then ANCAP made an example out of Ford and the Mustang.

Should the car have achieved a 5-star rating? Probably. But the ANCAP system was and still is flawed. For example, they ripped Ford a new one over a lack of rear seat safety on a vehicle that would rarely, if ever, have someone in those back seats. And yet, ANCAP don't rate the rear most seats in a 7-seat SUV, you know, the ones that are basically booster seats mounted in the boot. Being seated in that 3rd row would arguably be more dangerous due to the proximity of the rear bumper. But of coarse, none of that mattered, only the theoretical star rating system that was primarily designed to help people compare family cars, not a sports car that generally always carried one, two at the most.

Paul Maric then got on his high horse and carried on as if his protest and influence would lead Ford to make fundamental changes to a vehicle built in the US, primarily for the US.

 

[bfets]

I remember when that ANCAP 2-star rating blew up in the media because after (only) a years wait, my car arrived at the dealer that same week.

At the time, the Mustang was in very high demand, every car that came into the country was already sold, no floor stock. Very different to now where there are actually cars on the lot without names on them. Those early S550 sales were so successful that ANCAP decided it needed to be crash tested. Ford refused to give them a car for testing, so ANCAP ended up having to buy one (at the taxpayers expense). What ended up playing out was a deliberate vendetta against Ford, a tit for tat situation for refusing them a car, and then ANCAP made an example out of Ford and the Mustang.

Should the car have achieved a 5-star rating? Probably. But the ANCAP system was and still is flawed. For example, they ripped Ford a new one over a lack of rear seat safety on a vehicle that would rarely, if ever, have someone in those back seats. And yet, ANCAP don't rate the rear most seats in a 7-seat SUV, you know, the ones that are basically booster seats mounted in the boot. Being seated in that 3rd row would arguably be more dangerous due to the proximity of the rear bumper. But of coarse, none of that mattered, only the theoretical star rating system that was primarily designed to help people compare family cars, not a sports car that generally always carried one, two at the most.

Paul Maric then got on his high horse and carried on as if his protest and influence would lead Ford to make fundamental changes to a vehicle built in the US, primarily for the US.

Yeah the ANCAP testing of Mustang was a real shitshow. I wonder if they're going to retest the S650. I was surprised to find that because of the current S550 rating being 3 stars, RAC refuse to insure a Mustang in WA.
Interesting that the NHTSA in the US gave the Mustang the highest possible rating from memory. So definitely didn't agree with ANCAPs rating. There is more and more resentment building in the market against ANCAP because like you say, their methodology is inherently flawed and changes year on year so you can't compare a 5 star car today with one from a year or more ago. Very confusing.

 

[DFB5.0]

Yeah the ANCAP testing of Mustang was a real shitshow. I wonder if they're going to retest the S650. I was surprised to find that because of the current S550 rating being 3 stars, RAC refuse to insure a Mustang in WA.
Interesting that the NHTSA in the US gave the Mustang the highest possible rating from memory. So definitely didn't agree with ANCAPs rating. There is more and more resentment building in the market against ANCAP because like you say, their methodology is inherently flawed and changes year on year so you can't compare a 5 star car today with one from a year or more ago. Very confusing.

Now that we no longer make cars, ANCAP is redundant. And yet, its still being funded.

This is the thing, car companies design cars to pass the tests. S550 Mustang excelled in the NHTSA tests because that's what Ford designed it to do. A truly global vehicle would have been designed to pass ALL safety standards, no matter how corrupt or redundant they are. But on such a low volume model, and a car company that is so cost conscious, its pretty clear Ford ignored NCAP and ANCAP standards, then got caught on the hop.

 

[5.0ALM]

JC isn't that fond of ANCAP either.




The 2-Star and then 3-Star Mustang rating I believe was due to side intrusion and 2nd row head trauma.

My response to that would be:
Go and buy a Prado instead, if you're taking the kiddies to & from skool.

 

[DFB5.0]

JC isn't that fond of ANCAP either.




The 2-Star and then 3-Star Mustang rating I believe was due to side intrusion and 2nd row head trauma.

My response to that would be:
Go and buy a Prado instead, if you're taking the kiddies to & from skool.

The funny thing is, ANCAP don't test the safety of a 7-seat SUV's third row seats, but they do test a two-door sports car rear seats.

 

[Deano1978]

Oh I'm going to check that out now. He told me he really loved it when I spoke to him about the recall delays and information. "Unreal and Epic" I think was his words.

I commented on it correcting a few things cause he's reviewing a car with options that aren't available on MY25 models (e.g. Atlas Blue with Black pack).

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