The Alfa Romeo Giulia has received a five-star rating for overall safety from Euro NCAP in its latest round-up of tests.
The Giulia is Alfa Romeo’s new and much anticipated compact executive saloon and will take on strong competitors including the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Jaguar XE.
In order to stand a chance of taking sales off such tough rivals, the Giulia had to perform strongly in the Euro NCAP crash safety tests.
Giulia achieves record category score
Instrumental in the Giulia's maximum rating was its performance in the adult occupant protection category. Here the Alfa Romeo Giulia scored an excellent 98 per cent. Euro NCAP says this is the highest score ever achieved by a car in this category, even though a more rigorous scoring system was introduced in 2015.
Alfa Romeo says the Giulia’s achievement can be put down to two elements in particular, one is the “adoption of a wide range of innovative safety systems”. The other is “the structural integrity of its light and rigid bodyshell which makes extensive use of robust, lightweight materials such as carbon-fibre, aluminium and aluminium composite.”
The Alfa Romeo Giulia will go on sale in Britain this autumn, with pricing and specification details set to be confirmed in the very near future.
You can check out our first impressions on driving the Alfa Romeo Giulia by reading our launch report or by watching our first drive video below:
Five stars too for Tiguan and Ateca
Euro NCAP also released reports on other new cars it has tested recently. They include the new Volkswagen Tiguan and SEAT Ateca SUVs, which have both achieved a five-star safety rating.
The latest Toyota Prius also achieved a five-star overall rating, but there was some disappointment for the Suzuki Baleno. The five-door supermini managed just a three-star rating, although Euro NCAP noted that with an optional safety pack the Baleno’s rating goes up to four stars. This is the first time Euro NCAP has allowed two separate ratings to be released for a car with optional safety equipment.
