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 CX-90 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The GLE doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Mazda CX-90 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 GLE doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
With its standard Smart Brake Support, the Mazda CX-90 is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Mercedes GLE, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
CX-90 |
GLE |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-23 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-22 MPH |
Warning Issued-Brights |
2.4 sec |
1.8 sec |
37 MPH Low beams |
-26 MPH |
-8 MPH |
Warning Issued-Low beams |
1.5 sec |
.9 sec |
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The CX-90 Premium Plus/Turbo S has standard Rear Smart City Brake Support that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The GLE doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
The CX-90’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 GLE.
Both the CX-90 and the GLE 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.
Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mazda CX-90 is safer than the GLE:
|
CX-90 |
GLE |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
45 lbs. |
201 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
.28 in |
.87 in |
Shoulder Force |
134 lbs. |
156 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
1.22 in |
1.34 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
513 lbs. |
1026 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
18 |
232 |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
825 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |