Ford S-max triumphs in British Insurance Car Security Awards
Although we are told that the amount of vehicle crime in the UK is falling - figures from 2005/6 were 51% down on those in 1997, according to the Crime in England and Wales 2005-6 report - theft is still a major worry for many motorists. This is not surprising, as the same report does state that there are still well over 1.5 million car-related thefts each year.
There is only so much that you, as a car owner, can do to protect your car. You can park in well-lit areas and those covered by CCTV, ensure your car is locked at all times, and remove any belongings from the vehicle before leaving it. However, whilst this may put off some thieves, there are many who will strike regardless of these kinds of deterrents.
The only way to stop these thieves is to make your car extremely difficult to get into, and this is mostly the responsibility of the car manufacturer. The British Insurance Car Security Awards were set up by the Automobile Association, Home Office, Thatcham and Department for Transport to raise awareness of the best cars in each category and are backed by many motor insurance companies.
In 2007, the outcome has been excellent for Ford, with success in one of the most popular vehicle categories: the large MPV. The Ford S-Max was given the impressive first place prize in this area while the Ford Galaxy came a close second, marking Ford's dedication to providing first class security for these sizeable family vehicles.
A delighted spokesperson for Ford said: "We consider security to be of paramount importance and we are thrilled that the S-Max and Galaxy have won the top two positions of this prestigious accolade," after hearing the news.
As well as the first and second placement in the large MPV category, Ford cars also featured in some other highly competitive categories. The Ford Focus Ghia and Titanium were rated as the third-best secured small family cars, whilst the Ford C-Max Titanium also was awarded the third place in the Compact MPV class.
There is a lot of competition in the large MPV market, so what was it about the Ford S-Max that set it apart from the rest, landing it the first place in this category of the British Insurance Car Security Awards?
Well, how a car performs in these Awards is actually based on a special rating system which has been organised by Thatcham. This is known as the New Vehicle Security Ratings scheme and it looks at how difficult a car is to steal, and how difficult it is to steal items from that car. Every new car is given points in the "theft of" and "theft from" categories, and, simply put, that which has the most points, wins!
All members of the Ford S-Max model range were given a maximum 5 star "theft of" score and an impressive 4 star "theft from" score, whilst most Ford Galaxy models faired very similarly, apart from the LX ones which only got 3 stars for "theft from".
It comes as no surprise, therefore, that both of these Fords come with a wide range of security kit. You can expect a new Ford S-Max to come equipped with a Thatcham Category 1 alarm, visible VIN numbers, engine immobiliser and remote control deadlocks as standard. All of these features combine to make stealing the car itself very difficult and all in all, make it a rather unattractive prospect for thieves.
However, what is an unattractive prospect for thieves is a very attractive prospect for owners and car insurance companies, and as a Ford spokesperson pointed out, "the real winners are our customers."