The E-Class Sedan’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The TLX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
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 TLX 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 TLX 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 TLX’s blind spot costs extra.
Both the E-Class Sedan and the TLX 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, driver alert monitors, 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 Acura TLX:
|
E-Class Sedan |
TLX |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
204 |
358 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
.6 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
29% |
32% |
Neck Stress |
120 lbs. |
186 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
257/308 lbs. |
416/473 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 Acura TLX:
|
E-Class Sedan |
TLX |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Abdominal Force |
149 G’s |
188 G’s |
Hip Force |
223 lbs. |
279 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
46 G’s |
53 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
11 inches |
12 inches |
HIC |
326 |
464 |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.