The GLC’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Macan 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 GLC are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Macan doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The GLC 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 Macan doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
The GLC has standard NECK-PRO front head restraints, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the NECK-PRO front head restraints system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Macan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The GLC has a standard Maneuvering Brake Function that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Macan doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The GLC offers optional Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Macan doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.
The GLC has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Macan’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the GLC’s standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert uses sensors in the rear to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side and Active Brake Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. The Macan doesn’t offer a rear cross-path warning system.
The GLC’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 Macan doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the GLC and the Macan 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, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available all wheel drive, lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.
The Mercedes GLC 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 Macan has not yet been evaluated by the IIHS for 2024.