Compare the2025 Mercedes C-Class SedanVS 2024 Infiniti Q50

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes C-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 Infiniti Q50 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 C-Class Sedan are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q50 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Mercedes C-Class Sedan has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Q50 doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The C-Class Sedan 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 Q50 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

With its available Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function, the Mercedes C-Class Sedan is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Infiniti Q50, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

	C-Class Sedan	Q50
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	POOR
	Crossing Child - DAY
12 MPH	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH	AVOIDED	No Slowing
	Crossing Adult - NIGHT
12 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
12 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
	Parallel Adult - NIGHT
25 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
25 MPH Low beams	AVOIDED	No Slowing
37 MPH Brights	AVOIDED	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Brights	2 sec	No Warning
37 MPH Low beams	-29 MPH	No Slowing
Warning Issued-Low beams	1 sec	No Warning

The C-Class Sedan has a standard Post Collision Brake, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Q50 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.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The C-Class Sedan offers optional Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Q50 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.

The C-Class Sedan’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Q50 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the C-Class Sedan and the Q50 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.

The Mercedes C-Class Sedan achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Q50 is not a “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.

Warranty

There are almost 2 times as many Mercedes dealers as there are Infiniti dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the C-Class Sedan’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Mercedes vehicles are more reliable than Infiniti With 1 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Mercedes higher than Infiniti.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the C-Class Sedan gets better mileage than the Q50:

			MPG
C-Class Sedan
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/35 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy
Q50
	RWD	3.0 turbo V6	20 city/29 hwy
		Red Sport 400 3.0 turbo V6	20 city/26 hwy
	AWD	3.0 turbo V6	19 city/27 hwy
		Red Sport 400 3.0 turbo V6	19 city/26 hwy

Regenerative brakes improve the C-Class Sedan’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Q50 doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the C-Class Sedan’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Q50 doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Mercedes C-Class Sedan higher (7 out of 10) than the Infiniti Q50 (3). This means the C-Class Sedan produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Q50 every 15,000 miles.

Transmission

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Mercedes C-Class Sedan, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a seven-speed automatic is available for the Q50.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the C-Class Sedan’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Q50:

	C-Class Sedan	Q50
Front Rotors	13 inches	12.6 inches

The C-Class Sedan stops much shorter than the Q50:

	C-Class Sedan	Q50
70 to 0 MPH	154 feet	165 feet	Car and Driver

Tires and Wheels

For better traction and acceleration, the C-Class Sedan has larger standard rear tires than the Q50 (245/40R18 vs. 225/50R18).

The C-Class Sedan’s standard 225/45R18 front and 245/40R18 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Q50 Luxe’s standard 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The C-Class Sedan has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Q50’s suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the C-Class Sedan is 1.8 inches wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Q50.

The C 300 Sedan 4MATIC handles at .91 G’s, while the Q50 Red Sport 400 pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

Chassis

The design of the Mercedes C-Class Sedan amounts to more than styling. The C-Class Sedan has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .24 Cd. That is lower than the Q50 (.26 to .29) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the C-Class Sedan get better fuel mileage.

Passenger Space

The C-Class Sedan has .5 inches more front headroom, 4.9 inches more front hip room, .7 inches more rear headroom, .9 inches more rear legroom and 5.6 inches more rear hip room than the Q50.

Cargo Capacity

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the C-Class Sedan’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Q50 doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

To make loading and unloading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the C-Class Sedan’s power trunk can be opened or closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Q50 doesn’t offer a power or hands-free opening trunk.

Ergonomics

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Q50, the C-Class Sedan has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The C-Class Sedan offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Q50 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The C-Class Sedan’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Q50’s parking brake has to be released manually.

The power windows standard on both the C-Class Sedan and the Q50 have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the C-Class Sedan is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Q50 prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The C-Class Sedan’s standard Keyless-Go allow you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the trunk, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Infiniti Intelligent Key standard on the Q50 doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the C-Class Sedan to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Q50 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

Consumer Reports rated the C-Class Sedan’s headlight performance “Excellent,” a higher rating than the Q50’s headlights, which were rated “Good.”

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 C-Class Sedan’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Q50’s headlights are rated “Marginal.”

A power rear sunshade and manual rear side window sunshades are standard in the C-Class Sedan to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Q50 doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

Optional air-conditioned seats in the C-Class Sedan keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Q50 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Mercedes C-Class has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the front center console. The Q50 doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

The C-Class Sedan has a 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The Q50 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The C-Class Sedan’s Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, stopping and changing direction automatically. The Q50 doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

The Mercedes C-Class outsold the Infiniti Q50 by over five to one during 2023.