The E-Class Sedan’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The A7 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The E-Class Sedan offers an optional backup collision prevention system that use rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The A7 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The E-Class Sedan has a standard blind spot warning system, which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the A7’s blind spot costs extra.
The E-Class Sedan’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The A7 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the E-Class Sedan and the A7 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Mercedes E-Class Sedan is safer than the Audi A7:
|
E-Class Sedan |
A7 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
132 |
135 |
Abdominal Force |
149 G’s |
174 G’s |
Hip Force |
223 lbs. |
262 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Hip Force |
594 lbs. |
716 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
13 inches |
HIC |
326 |
395 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the E-Class Sedan its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 113 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The A7 is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2019.