Lincoln MKT Gets NHTSA Five-Star Safety Rating

Ford's range of vehicles which have received a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has increased with the addition of the 2010 Lincoln MKT. The luxury crossover got the acknowledgment after it was subjected to both frontal and side-impact crash tests and proved it offers the best possible protection in both cases.

"Leading the industry in both five-star crash test ratings and Top Safety Pick awards is very significant because customers increasingly rely on NHTSA and IIHS ratings when choosing a new vehicle," Susan Cischke, Ford's group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering said in a release.

The MKT, powered by a 3.5l EcoBoost engine, features safety technologies like Adaptive Cruise Control and Collision Warning with Brake Support and Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert system.

Passive safety is insured with the help of Ford's Trinity Front Crash Body Architecture, an energy-absorbing body structure optimized for strength and stiffness with the help of octagonal front frame rails, engine cradle/front subframe and "shotgun" front structural members.

"The MKT's array of advanced safety technologies raises the bar for luxury vehicles and pushes the new frontier of 'active' crash-avoidance features that help drivers avoid or reduce the severity of accidents," Steve Kozak, chief engineer, Ford Safety Systems added.

Last year, the same MKT was named "Top Safety Pick" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), bringing Ford the title of the automaker with the most Top Safety Pick ratings and more government five-star ratings than any other automaker in the US.