Early last year, we heard rumors that Alfa Romeo kept delaying the Giulia so it could be re-engineered to meet crash test standards, claims that the automaker denied. As it turns out, whatever the actual reason for the delay was, the Giulia you can buy today is no death trap. It's actually one of the safest cars on the market.

Alfa Romeo announced today that the Giulia has been named a Top Safety Pick+ by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. To get that rating, the Giulia had to earn a score of "Good" on all five types of crashes the IIHS tests, including small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength, and head restraint. It also has to earn an "Advanced" or "Superior" rating for front crash prevention and an "Acceptable" or "Good" headlight rating.

Equipped with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warning, the Giulia actually earned the best score in all categories. Be sure to spring for the optional curve-adaptive headlights, though. While the IIHS found those to be fantastic, the headlights that come standard earned a "Poor" rating.

For a better idea of how the Giulia did, make sure you check out the crash video below.

Source: Alfa Romeo, IIHS