We've come to expect the Swedish firm to take top honours for safety - after all Volvo was the inventor of the three-point seatbelt. And since Euro NCAP's introduction, the firm has consistently been at the top of the game - all cars since 2001 having received the maximum five stars.

But this time it has set a new record: the new Volvo V40 boasts the best set of results from any car tested by the safety institute. Not only is the overall result the highest the testers have awarded, but the 98 per cent score in adult protection takes the top honours as well.

Maximum points are awarded again for the safety assist category, helped by the auto brake, pedestrian detection, lane keeping aid and blind spot assist systems, as well as the City Safety system that operates at speeds of up to 31mph - higher than any rival.

It came top of the class for pedestrian protection as well thanks in no small part to the pedestrian airbag that raises the bonnet and cushions any impact in the event of a coming together between car and human.

It's all part of the company's 2020 target - that nobody should die or be seriously injured in a Volvo. Far from being just another utopian belief, on the strength of these results it could just become a reality for the Swedish automaker.

Graeme Lambert - 29 Aug 2012