[ilhatch]

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio was bound to get safety ratings from the NCAP and IIHS, and it looks like the Euro NCAP gave it five full stars with a score of 97% for the protection of adult passengers. Worth mentioning is the Stelvio's array of safety features and how rigid the lightweight body shell is.

You can read the full assessment here: https://www.euroncap.com/en/results/alfa-romeo/stelvio/27419

 

[Khan22]

This is what I clicked the link to see. After it gets beyond the crumple zone, everything stays solid. No flex at all throughout the body which is quite amazing.

 

[ilhatch]

I'm actually surprised to see just how little crumple there was in the crumple zone. Usually it looks like the front compresses by around half but it doesn't seem to be the case with the stlevio.

Though the side pole test does look pretty bad.

 

[Fiver]

What's amazing is just how well the crash avoidance system works, especially with a pedestrian coming out from behind the car. But any faster than 40 km/h and it would have hit the dummy, a possibility when most streets have a speed limit of 60 km/h.

 

[poormansferrari]

What's amazing is just how well the crash avoidance system works, especially with a pedestrian coming out from behind the car. But any faster than 40 km/h and it would have hit the dummy, a possibility when most streets have a speed limit of 60 km/h.

Just wait till we get more self driving cars on the road and these cars start talking to each other, then it might be impossible to get caught up in certain accident with cars or pedestrians with how advanced of a warning they'll have. At that point it will outpace what we can do.

 

[ilhatch]

I'd be the cranky person who fears losing all control over a vehicle hurtling down roads. Call me old school, but those avoidance systems shouldn't be used as a replacement for proper driving technique and awareness of your surroundings.

 

[Fiver]

We're still far from full autonomy and even if the technology is there, legislation is not and its a whole new world for lawmakers to deal with.

 

[Khan22]

As it is some people can't reverse park without darn reverse cameras so it's a bit too late for that lmao. It's just going to get worse. I'm old school as well and could really care less for these systems. For someone that has proper driving experience, these assists are a comfort thing. For idiots who can't drive, these assists make everything worse because they don't feel the need to learn proper technique.

 

[poormansferrari]

We're still far from full autonomy and even if the technology is there, legislation is not and its a whole new world for lawmakers to deal with.

Very true but what we will be seeing a lot of are semi-autonomous vehicles on the road. Don't know if that will help or harm but fact is there will be a result from it. Alfa has plans to give us that tech and already has adaptive cruise control.

 

[Fiver]

What I find odd from the side crash is the lack of airbag deployment from the front passenger side. It may not be the direct point of impact, but the passenger's head will still snap towards the side door.

 

[ilhatch]

There was no passenger in the front seat, so the Stelvio's system didn't need to deploy anything on that side. But there should be a side head, chest and pelvis airbag for lateral crash protection.

 

[poormansferrari]

Giulia crash tests seemed more convincing. Might be because of the safety standards in that market but I will be waiting for what American regulators will be doing. Still i'm convinced this is the SUV for me, majority of cars these days are very safe, the real issue is how some people drive.

 

[Fiver]

Yea, that's where those clear films come in. Won't prevent all dings from sticking, but it should protect the paint from scratches and inattentive people. Also why I tend to park as far away from the entrance as possible.

 

[onno]

Scoring would have even been better, and similar to the touted Volvo XC90, if not for this:

A driver-set speed limiter is also standard but the method for setting the speed was too complicated to comply with Euro NCAP's requirements and the system was not rewarded.

This could maybe simplified in a firmware update.

The AEB:

Volvo
Approaching a stationary car
Autobrake Function Only // Driver reacts to warning
Crash avoided up to 80km/h. Crash speed reduced up to 80km/h.
Approaching a slower moving car
Autobrake Function Only // Driver reacts to warning
Crash avoided up to 70km/h. Crash avoided up to 80km/h.

Stelvio
Approaching a stationary car
Autobrake Function Only // Driver reacts to warning
Crash avoided up to 50km/h. // Crash speed reduced up to 55km/h.
Approaching a slower moving car
Autobrake Function Only // Driver reacts to warning
Crash avoided up to 70km/h. // Crash avoided up to 80km/h.

Very impressive.

 

[Fiver]

Seems more like nitpicking to me, which makes sense for vehicular safety testers like the NCAP, but just not relevant to the average buyer and Alfa Romeo may not see a need to update it.