Ford’s FG Falcon is officially the first Australian-built car to score a five-star Australian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) safety rating. The home-grown Falcon achieved the score in the latest round of ANCAP testing.

A five-star rating is as good as it gets and puts the Falcon ahead of its local rivals, including the VE Commodore and Toyota Aurion and Camry. In order to achieve the full five-star rating a manufacturer must donate a vehicle to ANCAP to undergo the ‘pole test’ and to-date, Holden and Toyota have avoided taking this step.

The side pole impact test is regarded as the most difficult test for a car to pass and the fitment of side-curtain airbags is virtually a requirement to successfully pass the test. In addition to the pole test, any five-star contender must be fitted with ESP stability control and have seat-belt warning lights for every passenger space.

The test results will be made available this Wednesday and we will be able to confirm which Falcon variant has achieved the 5-star outcome – we suspect it will be the G6E.