New Ford Kuga Aces Euro NCAP Assisted Driving Test
Photo: Ford
The European New Car Assessment Program launched its grading scale for vehicles with assisted driving technologies in October. Scoring the highest ranking in the Euro NCAP Assisted Driving test among mainstream brands is the new Ford Kuga, which doubled the score of the Tesla Model 3 in some categories.
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Ten vehicles, including the Kuga, tested as part of the inaugural scored group under the Euro NCAP Assisted Driving program: the Audi Q8, BMW 3 Series, Ford Kuga, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Nissan Juke, Peugeot 2008, Renault Clio, Tesla Model 3, Volkswagen Passat, and Volvo V6.
Scoring places each vehicle into one of four categories: Entry, Moderate, Good, and Very Good. The Ford Kuga was the only vehicle of the 10 to score a rating of Good. Only the three premium vehicles — the Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz — scored higher.
Vehicles tested in the program rate on two factors: Assistance Competence and Safety Backup. The former includes Vehicle Assistance and Driver Engagement, which consider how the system works overall and how it affects the driver, respectively. The latter is how the technologies protect the vehicle in an emergency situation.
Kuga earns impressive Euro NCAP Assisted Driving scores
Photo: Ford
In Assistance Competence, the Kuga earns a score of 66 percent with a score of 73 percent in Driver Engagement and 66.1 percent for Vehicle Assistance. In Safety Backup, it earns a score of 86 percent with a perfect score for System Failure.
“The Ford Kuga demonstrates across a wide variety of cars tested that a Good grading is achievable on a high-volume family SUV,” said Richard Schram, technical director, Euro NCAP. “Ford impressed in our first-ever Assisted Driving technology grading, showing high performance in all areas and a good balance between Driver Engagement and Vehicle Assistance with a robust Safety Backup.”
The all-new Ford Kuga offers technologies including Adaptive Cruise Control with Stop & Go, Speed Sign Recognition, and Lane Centering. Leveraging advanced camera and radar tech, these features allow the Kuga to maintain a consistent speed and distance from the vehicle ahead, stay within the speed limit, and stay within an intended lane.
Ford’s new Kuga also earned the top 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating last December, making it one of the safer choices overall in Europe.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.