Compare the2023 Audi A7VS 2023 Mercedes E-Class Sedan

Both the A7 and E-Class Sedan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A7 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 Sedan’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 A7 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 Sedan doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A7. But it costs extra on the E-Class Sedan.

The A7’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the E-Class Sedan.

Both the A7 and the E-Class Sedan 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, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

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 A7 is safer than the Mercedes E-Class Sedan:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The A7’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the E-Class Sedan’s (12 vs. 5 years).

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the A7’s reliability 21 points higher than the E-Class Sedan.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 18 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

The A7’s 3.0 turbo V6 hybrid produces 80 more horsepower (335 vs. 255) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (369 vs. 273) than the E 350 Sedan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

The A7 has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the E-Class Sedan 350’s standard fuel tank (19.3 vs. 17.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The A7 has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The A7 offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The A7’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the A7’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the E-Class Sedan:

The A7 stops much shorter than the E-Class Sedan:

For better traction, the A7 has larger tires than the E-Class Sedan (255/40R20 vs. 245/45R18).

The A7’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the E-Class Sedan’s standard 45 series tires. The A7 55 TFSI Prestige’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the E 350 Sedan’s optional 40 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A7 has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the E-Class Sedan. The A7 55 TFSI Prestige’s optional 21-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the E 350 Sedan.

The A7 has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the E-Class Sedan; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the A7 is 2 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the E-Class Sedan.

The A7 55 TFSI Prestige handles at .93 G’s, while the E 450 4MATIC Sedan pulls only .84 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the A7 55 TFSI Prestige is quieter than the E 450 4MATIC Sedan:

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the A7’s rear seats recline. The E-Class Sedan’s rear seats don’t recline.

The A7 has a 3500 lbs. towing capacity. The E-Class Sedan has no towing capacity.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Mercedes. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 16% lower rating, Mercedes is ranked 18th.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A7 Premium Plus/Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A7 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The A7 Prestige’s Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The E-Class Sedan’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.