DUNTON, UK – Ford’s new Transit Custom has earned a platinum award from industry vehicle safety experts Euro NCAP.
It joins its little sibling, the Ford Transit Courier, in receiving a platinum rating, which recognises the outstanding safety technology in both vans.
Transit Custom scored 96 per cent in Euro NCAP’s latest assessment which examines the vehicle’s safety assist features.
Euro NCAP commented: “The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system uses radar-camera fusion technology to detect other vehicles and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Performance is good when approaching a stationary or slower-moving car, with collisions avoided at most test speeds, albeit with slight drop-off in performance of the forward-collision warning at the highest speeds. The system performs equally well whether the target vehicle is straight in front of it or offset to one side or the other, and there is good reaction in the scenarios where a vehicle turns across the path of the approaching van.
“With a pedestrian target, the system performs well in all scenarios, including those done in night-time conditions. The system reacts equally well in Euro NCAP’s cyclist scenarios, again scoring almost full points. The lane support system includes lane departure warning, which signals to the driver when the van is drifting out of lane, and emergency lane keeping, which intervenes more aggressively in certain critical situations to prevent the van from leaving the road. The system performed well in all tests, and includes blind spot monitoring to help the driver not to pull out in front of an overtaking vehicle.
“The Transit Custom uses a camera and digital mapping to identify the local speed limit and provides the information to the driver, allowing the limiter to be set accordingly. The limiter is able to maintain the set speed to within 5 km/h. A seatbelt reminder is standard for the driver and front passenger seat, and the Transit Custom recognises steering behaviour which is characteristic of fatigued driving, alerting the driver to the need for a break.”