Ford is betting that the 2006 Ford Fusion’s structure will provide significant safety for occupants, and result in credible side and frontal crash-test results from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Institute of Highway Safety This sentence is confusing. I get the side curtains. But are seat-mounted side airbags for front only? Are they combination torso and thorax? Or are those different systems? (IIHS). Judging from the marks gained by the Mazda 6, with which the Fusion shares its foundation, and the slew of standard and optional safety packages for its new sedan, Ford can feel pretty confident that safety will be a strong suit.

The trouble may well be in the money it costs to buy the safest possible Fusion. While speculation is useless until the lab rats crash a few concrete barriers into the side of the vehicle, at least one competitor – the 2006 Hyundai Sonata – is offering critical safety equipment such as side curtain airbags as a standard, and not optional, feature. Ford does include at no extra cost dual-deployment front airbags of the “smart” variety, meaning that they are deployed in conjunction with an onboard computer that controls inflation force based on seat location, crash severity, and whether a seat belt is use. Energy-absorbing safety belts, load-limiting retractors and pretensioners, and two LATCH child-safety-seat mounting points in the rear seat are also standard.

Optional safety features include seat-deployed side airbags for front occupants and side-curtain airbags in both rows. According to Ford, the Fusion’s side curtain airbags feature an exclusive "roll-fold" technology that keeps the airbag in the correct place – against the window – even if there is an obstruction, like a passenger’s head or arm.