Both the GV70 and GLC have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The GV70 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The GLC’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the GV70 are reminded to check the back seat when a sensor determines the back seat is occupied. The GLC doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The GV70 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The GLC doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the GV70 deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The GV70’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The GLC’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GV70 Advanced/Sport has standard Reverse Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The GLC doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the GV70. But it costs extra on the GLC.
When descending a steep, off-road slope, the GV70’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The GLC doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.
The GV70’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the GLC.
Both the GV70 and the GLC have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
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 vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the GV70 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 80 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The GLC has not been fully tested, yet.