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 Mustang Mach-E are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E 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 Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer knee airbags.
With its standard Pre-Collision Assist with Automatic Emergency Braking, the Ford Mustang Mach-E is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Audi Q4 e-tron, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:
|
Mustang Mach-E |
Q4 e-tron |
Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
|
Crossing Child - DAY |
|
12 MPH |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH |
AVOIDED |
-15 MPH |
|
Crossing Adult - NIGHT |
|
12 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
12 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
-21 MPH |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
-24 MPH |
|
Parallel Adult - NIGHT |
|
25 MPH Brights |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
25 MPH Low beams |
AVOIDED |
AVOIDED |
37 MPH Brights |
-33 MPH |
-21 MPH |
The Mustang Mach-E’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 Q4 e-tron doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the Mustang Mach-E and the Q4 e-tron have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras and rear cross-path warning.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Ford Mustang Mach-E is safer than the Audi Q4 e-tron:
|
Mustang Mach-E |
Q4 e-tron |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
The Ford Mustang Mach-E (built after August 2024) 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 a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The Q4 e-tron is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2024, though it hasn’t yet been rated in the updated moderate overlap frontal test, a requirement for the “Top Safety Pick Plus” award.