Fiat 500 smallest car to achieve 5-star safety

Cute and incredibly safe

30 August 2007 21:34 GMT / By Jonathan Goddard

The impossibly cute new Fiat 500 has become the first ever car of its size to achieve top marks for accident safety.

The Euro NCAP five-star crash safety rating, which looks at all aspects of driver and passenger protection, is reserved for only the sturdiest of motors. To achieve the rating, Fiat designers examined every possible type of accident: front and side impacts, roll-overs and rear-end collisions.

The different speeds at which collisions take place, different types of obstacles and the protection of occupants with widely varying physical characteristics, were also taken into consideration.

The Fiat 500, as standard, has two dual-stage front airbags, two front-side airbags for chest/pelvis protection, two window-bags and a driver’s knee airbag. Front seat-belts with a double pretensioner and load limiter are also standard.