For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Mercedes AMG GLC 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 Audi SQ5 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 AMG GLC are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The SQ5 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Mercedes AMG GLC 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 SQ5 doesn’t offer knee airbags.
The AMG 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 SQ5 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Both the AMG GLC and the SQ5 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, 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, available lane departure warning systems and around view monitors.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the AMG GLC is much safer than the SQ5:
|
AMG GLC |
SQ5 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck Rating |
ACCEPTABLE |
ACCEPTABLE |
Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
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 Mercedes AMG GLC is safer than the SQ5:
|
AMG GLC |
SQ5 |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Neck Tension |
156 lbs. |
245 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
22 lbs. |
89 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Shoulder Deflection |
.55 in |
.71 in |
Torso Max Deflection |
.94 in |
.98 in |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Pelvis Force |
736 lbs. |
1116 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
Passenger Injury Measures |
|
Head/Neck |
GOOD |
GOOD |
Head Injury Criterion |
240 |
346 |
Neck Tension |
112 lbs. |
223 lbs. |
Torso |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
Shoulder Deflection |
1.38 in |
1.73 in |
Shoulder Force |
67 lbs. |
402 lbs. |
Torso Max Deflection |
.98 in |
1.54 in |
Torso Deflection Rate |
7 MPH |
11 MPH |
Pelvis |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
Pelvis Force |
558 lbs. |
1249 lbs. |
Head Protection |
GOOD |
GOOD |
The Mercedes AMG GLC has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and an “Acceptable” to “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The SQ5 is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024.