For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes AMG CLE 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 M2 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The AMG CLE’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The M2 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.
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 AMG CLE are reminded to check the back seat. The M2 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The AMG CLE 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 M2 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The AMG CLE has standard Maneuvering Assistance that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The M2 doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The AMG CLE has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The M2 doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The AMG CLE has Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The M2 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.
The AMG CLE has a standard Surround View System to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The M2 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 AMG CLE and M2 have rear cross-traffic warning, but the AMG CLE has Active Brake Assist (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The M2’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.
Both the AMG CLE and the M2 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available lane departure warning systems.
The Mercedes AMG CLE weighs 553 to 783 pounds more than the BMW M2. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.