Just like the Giulia that served as precursor, the Alfa Romeo’s Stelvio SUV has received equally high praise from Euro NCAP, who have stamped it with a 5-star safety rating, boding well for these new Italian models in both their European rollouts and their eventual regional assessment by ANCAP.
Both the Giulia and the Stelvio share Alfa’s Giorgio architecture and thus behave quite similarly when crashed. In ‘Adult Occupant’, the Stelvio scored 97 percent while ‘Child Occupant’ safety was rated at 87 percent, ‘Pedestrian’ at 71 percent, and ‘Safety Assist’ at 60 percent.
For comparison, the Giulia took a 98 percent, 81 percent, 69 percent, and 60 percent in those respective categories when Euro NCAP tested it late last year. It’s very likely, then, that ANCAP will use crash test data from their European colleagues to inform their own rating, making a corroborative 5-star rating very likely.
However, the only swing factor here could fall within the ‘Safety Assist’ umbrella, as the standard safety equipment (passive and active) could differ once it reaches our shores. Depending on how ANCAP will emphasise the inclusion of certain safety features across the range, that average 60 percent score may end up hurting it. For comparison, Euro NCAP rated new cars such as the Volkswagen Arteon and Volvo S90 with an 82 percent and 93 percent respectively.
The European-spec Stelvio does come with Autonomous Emergency Braking as standard, and as the crash test result proves, the body itself has been developed to stand up well in crash tests, deforming in specific areas to disperse the kinetic energy away from the the passenger cell.
It’s another marker in a series of positive touchstones for Fiat Chrysler’s ambitious turnaround plan of the storied Italian marque, positioning it as a real contender in the premium car marketplace against the German triumvirate of Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi.
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