Crumple zones and ABS, airbags and ESP®, windowbags and SBC®, belt tensioners and Brake Assist; all examples of ground-breaking inventions from Mercedes stemming from over 60 years of committed development work in the field of vehicle safety. These innovations help to prevent accidents and form the basis for the exemplary safety standards set by cars bearing the three-pointed star. They also demonstrate how Mercedes-Benz perceives the topic of safety as being an integral task.
With the advent of the new E-Class, this integral safety concept has now attained a new level of perfection. Mercedes engineers have devoted more attention than ever before to analysing what happens in real-life crashes, have designed highly effective protective measures which incorporate the very latest findings from accident research, and have developed restraint systems which are even more intelligent than ever before, adapting to the situation at hand with lightning speed. This clearly makes the new E-Class stand out from all other car models, and adds substance to the claim traditionally upheld by the Stuttgart-based automobile manufacturer of being the pioneer in the field of passenger car safety.
Test programme: toughest tests passed with ease
At the same time, the new E-Class also came through the most stringent crash tests conducted at the Mercedes-Benz Safety Centre with flying colours. Testing included:
- The frontal 40-percent offset collision against a collapsible barrier, the ECE side impact as well as the side impact with a pillar, which all feature in the European New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP).
- The 100-percent head-on collision against a fixed barrier and the side impact, both components of the American NCAP testing programme.