Both the A6 Allroad and E-Class All-Terrain Wagon have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A6 Allroad 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 E-Class All-Terrain Wagon’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.
The Audi A6 Allroad has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The A6 Allroad has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The A6 Allroad Prestige has a standard backup collision prevention system that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
A passive infrared night vision system optional on the A6 Allroad Prestige helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon doesn’t offer a night vision system.
The A6 Allroad’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 E-Class All-Terrain Wagon.
Both the A6 Allroad and the E-Class All-Terrain Wagon 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, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems 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 Audi A6 Allroad is safer than the Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain Wagon:
|
|
A6 Allroad |
E-Class All-Terrain Wagon |
|
|
Driver |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
| Neck Injury Risk |
30% |
30% |
| Leg Forces (l/r) |
292/435 lbs. |
387/481 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 Audi A6 Allroad is safer than the Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain Wagon:
|
|
A6 Allroad |
E-Class All-Terrain Wagon |
|
|
Front Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Chest Movement |
.9 inches |
1.1 inches |
|
|
Rear Seat |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| HIC |
135 |
215 |
| Spine Acceleration |
43 G’s |
46 G’s |
|
|
Into Pole |
|
| STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
| Spine Acceleration |
39 G’s |
43 G’s |
| Hip Force |
514 lbs. |
836 lbs. |
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 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 A6 Allroad its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 89 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The E-Class All-Terrain Wagon has not been tested, yet.