OldZephyr Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 The 2009 Focus had ratings of Good in the Front and Rear crash tests done by the IIHS, and ESC is available. If the IIHS had found that the Focus was Good in the Side Impact test, Focus would have been another Top Safety Pick for Ford, which would have been a nice feather in Ford's cap. Today the results of the IIHS side impact test came in, and unfortunately the Focus was rated Acceptable (2nd best rating): http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=328 Looking at the results, if IIHS had judged the safety cage to be at least Acceptable (rather than marginal), then the Focus would have been rated Good in Side Impact test. Still, comparing the results to the 2007 Focus, it's obvious that there's been a huge improvement in safety, and the current model provides far more protection to occupants than the last generation of the Focus. The complete press release is here: http://www.iihs.org/news/2008/iihs_news_121708.pdf Honda likes to tout its committment to safety, however, one thing worth mentioning is that the Honda Civic, which is a Top Safety Pick (because of its "Good" ratings in side, front and rear, and availability of ESC), does not offer ESC except in the very top trim line, the EX-L, which lists for over $21,500 if you include delivery. The lower and midlevel trims don't offer ESC. In contrast, you can get even a stripped Focus S with ESC, and that will run just over $15K under the current employee pricing promotion (and with rebates it will be around $13,500). Ford is to be applauded for offering ESC in almost all of its vehicles, regardless of the trim level. My brother bought a Focus SE with ESC recently and he's very happy with it. Originally he was interested in a Civic, but when he found out that only the loaded Civics had ESC, he decided against even looking at a Civic; the $6000 price differential wasn't even close to worth it to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 irrespective of "ratings"...I would MUCH rather be in the focus in the event of an accident than the honda...i have witnessed BOTH in the bodyshop...guess which of the two seemed to hold up better.....of course its accident mandated but it wasn't subtle...Aluminum can sprung to mind.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Aside from the PT Cruiser, the Focus has the eldest chasis in the group, most of the safety cage is as old as dirt (assuming the world was created in the year 1999). Ford can only get so much out of that thing, but they did a fair job retrofitting it for safety. I would like to see better and expect as much when this thing is finally retired in 2010. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldZephyr Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 Aside from the PT Cruiser, the Focus has the eldest chasis in the group, most of the safety cage is as old as dirt (assuming the world was created in the year 1999). Ford can only get so much out of that thing, but they did a fair job retrofitting it for safety. I would like to see better and expect as much when this thing is finally retired in 2010. Good point. The 2007 safety cage was rated "Poor" by IIHS, so Ford must have done something to improve the safety cage for 08-09. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smok Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 (edited) irrespective of "ratings"...I would MUCH rather be in the focus in the event of an accident than the honda...i have witnessed BOTH in the bodyshop...guess which of the two seemed to hold up better.....of course its accident mandated but it wasn't subtle...Aluminum can sprung to mind.... ??? How can you compare? Have the honda and ford been in the same accident, same speed and circumstances? It's ok to be a cheerleader :hyper: , but c'mon, give me a break. And you should know that the collapse of the front and rear is OK and beneficial for energy absorption, as long as the main cage of the car is intact. I think Honda does a great job with safety, and Ford is getting better. Edited December 18, 2008 by smok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smok Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Good point. The 2007 safety cage was rated "Poor" by IIHS, so Ford must have done something to improve the safety cage for 08-09. Mostl likely they increased the material thickness and/or material proeprties to higher strength steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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