1997 Ford Contour
midsize car / 4-door sedan
Moderate overlap front: original test
Rating applies to 1995-2000 models
Tested vehicle: 1995 Ford Contour GL 4-door
The Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique were introduced in the 1995 model year.
| Evaluation criteria | Rating |
|---|---|
| Overall evaluation | |
| Structure and safety cage | |
| Driver injury measures | |
| Head/neck | |
| Chest | |
| Leg/foot, left | |
| Leg/foot, right | |
| Driver restraints and dummy kinematics | |
Action shot taken during the frontal offset crash test.
Despite excessive intrusion into the footwell area, the driver's survival space was maintained reasonably well.
Footwell intrusion produced a gash almost 14 inches long in the metal floor. The dummy's right foot finished wedged in a pocket created by the intrusion.
High forces on both legs contributed to the likelihood of lower leg injuries.
Technical measurements for this test
Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CF95010 |
| Footwell intrusion | |
| Footrest (cm) | 18 |
| Left (cm) | 29 |
| Center (cm) | 32 |
| Right (cm) | 20 |
| Brake pedal (cm) | 23 |
| Instrument panel rearward movement | |
| Left (cm) | 7 |
| Right (cm) | 8 |
| Steering column movement | |
| Upward (cm) | 9 |
| Rearward (cm) | 4 |
| A-pillar rearward movement (cm) | 5 |
Driver injury measures
| Evaluation criteria | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Test ID | CF95010 |
| Head | |
| HIC-15 | 268 |
| Peak gs at hard contact | 22 |
| Neck | |
| Tension (kN) | 1.3 |
| Extension bending moment (Nm) | 22 |
| Maximum Nij | 0.29 |
| Chest maximum compression (mm) | 35 |
| Legs | |
| Femur force - left (kN) | 3.0 |
| Femur force - right (kN) | 3.4 |
| Knee displacement - left (mm) | 2 |
| Knee displacement - right (mm) | 6 |
| Maximum tibia index - left | 1.72 |
| Maximum tibia index - right | 1.59 |
| Tibia axial force - left (kN) | 3.4 |
| Tibia axial force - right (kN) | 3.4 |
| Foot acceleration (g) | |
| Left | 72 |
| Right | 52 |