ESP as standard… in the US

15 September 2006

Ford to fit ESP into its American cars
No word yet if Ford Europe will follow
Watch our exclusive ESP video

Latest News

Ford has announced that all of its cars will have electronic stability control as standard by 2009 – but so far only in the US.

Stability control (sometimes called ESP, DSC or VSA) uses electronics to prevent skids during emergency manoeuvres. Research has proved that these systems can reduce road deaths by 30%.

A Ford spokeswoman in the States said:

'We believe that safety is one of those attributes that customers do demand. When there's some proven technology that shows here is a lifesaving benefit, we think that that's something customers would be interested in.'

Ford of Europe says there would be no announcement on making ESP - or ESC as it is called in Ford cars - standard in the UK to coincide with the US statement. It did point out that it has reduce the price of stability control as an option from £600 to £250 and said its customers don't want to take ESC up as an option.

However, Earlier this year, What Car? launched a campaign to pressure manufacturers to fit ESP as standard, which was backed up by more than 98% of What Car? readers who took part in our ESP poll. Last month Insurance research body Thatcham also announced it wanted ESP to be fitted to all new cars.

Car manufacturers could fit electronic stability control for £150 but it can cost the consumer up to £500 as an optional extra.

To see just what a difference ESP can make, take a look at our exclusive ESP video by clicking on one of the links below.

• Windows Media Player: ESP Video
• RealOne Player: ESP Video

To watch this clip through iTunes click here. Alternatively, add the following link to your preferred podcast software: http://www.whatcar.com/rss/whatcarvideo.xml.