Alfa's hot hatch scores top safety marks

Alfa Romeo's Giulietta scored five-stars in Euro-NCAP safety tests.

Alfa Romeo's Golf-sized Giulietta has achieved a top five-star rating in Euro-NCAP safety tests, which were toughened last year, and it will still qualify as a five-star car when the standards are further tightened in 2012.

The new model scored 87/100 in detailed NCAP assessments, higher than any other model in this bracket.

When Euro-NCAP tests were introduced in 1997, several leading models were awarded middling two- or three-star ratings, and even one-star ratings were not unknown.

Now five-star scores on today's more demanding test are increasingly regarded as essential for mainstream cars.

- THE INDEPENDENT