For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes E-Class Sedan have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Infiniti Q50 doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.
The Mercedes E-Class Sedan has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q50 doesn’t offer knee airbags.
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 Q50 doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
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 Q50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the E-Class Sedan and the Q50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Mercedes E-Class Sedan is safer than the Infiniti Q50:
|
E-Class Sedan |
Q50 |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
4 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
190 |
225 |
Neck Stress |
186 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
21 lbs. |
45 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
1 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
29% |
48% |
Neck Stress |
120 lbs. |
145 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
257/308 lbs. |
541/294 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Infiniti Q50:
|
E-Class Sedan |
Q50 |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
149 G’s |
262 G’s |
Hip Force |
223 lbs. |
320 lbs. |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
19 inches |
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 Q50 has not been fully tested, yet.