Compare the2023 Mercedes E-Class SedanVS 2023 BMW 5 Series Sedan

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 BMW 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes E-Class Sedan are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

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 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

The E-Class Sedan offers an optional Surround View System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The 5 Series Sedan only offers a rear monitor and front and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the sides.

Both the E-Class Sedan and 5 Series Sedan offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the E-Class Sedan with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert also has Active Brake Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The 5 Series Sedan’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the E-Class Sedan and the 5 Series Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors and available lane departure warning systems.

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 Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 134 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The 5 Series Sedan is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

There are over 9 percent more Mercedes dealers than there are BMW dealers, which makes it easier should you ever need service under the E-Class Sedan’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the E-Class Sedan has a standard 850-amp battery. The 5 Series Sedan’s 570-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

As tested in Car and Driver the E 450 4MATIC Sedan 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid is faster than the 540i 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the E-Class Sedan gets better mileage than the 5 Series Sedan:

The E-Class Sedan 450’s standard fuel tank has 3.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the 5 Series Sedan (21.1 vs. 18 gallons).

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Mercedes E-Class Sedan, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the 5 Series Sedan.

The E-Class Sedan stops much shorter than the 5 Series Sedan:

The E-Class Sedan has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The E-Class Sedan’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The E-Class Sedan’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

The E-Class Sedan 4MATIC handles at .93 G’s, while the 530i pulls only .86 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The E-Class Sedan 4MATIC executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the 530i (25.1 seconds @ .77 average G’s vs. 26.3 seconds @ .68 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the E 350 Sedan’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the 5 Series Sedan’s (38.1 feet vs. 39.4 feet). The E 450 4MATIC Sedan’s turning circle is 1.8 feet tighter than the 5 Series Sedan xDrive’s (39 feet vs. 40.8 feet).

The E-Class Sedan has .3 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more rear headroom and 1.2 inches more rear shoulder room than the 5 Series Sedan.

Heated windshield washer fluid is standard on the E-Class Sedan to defrost the washer nozzles and quickly clear ice and frost from the windshield without scraping. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer heated windshield washer fluid.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The E-Class Sedan’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the 5 Series Sedan’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

To better shield the driver and front passenger’s vision, the E-Class Sedan has standard dual-element sun visors that can block glare from two directions simultaneously. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer secondary sun visors.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the E-Class Sedan has standard extendable sun visors. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The E-Class Sedan’s optional Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The 5 Series Sedan doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

The Mercedes E-Class comes in coupe, convertible, sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the BMW 5 Series isn’t available as a coupe, convertible or station wagon.

Insurance will cost less for the E-Class Sedan owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the E-Class Sedan will cost $1080 less than the 5 Series Sedan over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the E-Class Sedan is less expensive to operate than the 5 Series Sedan because typical repairs cost much less on the E-Class Sedan than the 5 Series Sedan, including $72 less for front brake pads, $58 less for a fuel pump, $181 less for front struts and $219 less for a timing belt/chain.

Motor Trend selected the E-Class as their 2021 Car of the Year. The 5 Series Sedan has never been chosen.