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What did MB do with the '07 E-Class??
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What did MB do with the '07 E-Class??
Crash safety ratings for the '07 E-Class are down from previous years and only awarded "acceptable" by the IIHS.
http://autospies.com/news/Ouch-2007-...the-IIHS-9693/
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=703
"The Mercedes E class was re-engineered for the 2007 model year with an emphasis on improving occupant protection in side impact crashes."
-For a large, expensive Mercedes, this is somewhat un-acceptable. It placed much lower than the A6, GS, M35/45, ES350, and TL. The base Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, VW Rabbit, Subaru Impreza and Honda Civic did BETTER. It was on-par with the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Pretty embarassing for Mercedes. And they actually tried to improve side-impact performance for 2007...
-For a large, expensive Mercedes, this is somewhat un-acceptable. It placed much lower than the A6, GS, M35/45, ES350, and TL. The base Chevrolet Malibu, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, VW Rabbit, Subaru Impreza and Honda Civic did BETTER. It was on-par with the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Pretty embarassing for Mercedes. And they actually tried to improve side-impact performance for 2007...
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=703
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From: Chicago Suburbs, USA
2014 E350 4Matic, 2012 Kia Soul+
Aren't these ratings based on veichle class? The IIHS put the camry in the mid size class, but E Class is in the large size class.
I don't care what IIHS says, I feel safer in my E than I would in a camry.
Of course I have the 06
I don't care what IIHS says, I feel safer in my E than I would in a camry.
Of course I have the 06
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What the autospies article fails to mention is that the side impact rating is only one of three tests conducted by the IIHS...offset front impact and rear impact are the other two, and the E-class got top marks for both. NONE of the vehicles in its class got top marks in all three.
According to the IIHS, if you want ultimate safety, buy a Subaru Legacy, Imprezza, Ford 500, Saab 9-3, or Honda Civic. They're the only cars tested with 'G' ratings for all three categories. However, their tests are very specific...chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero.
According to the IIHS, if you want ultimate safety, buy a Subaru Legacy, Imprezza, Ford 500, Saab 9-3, or Honda Civic. They're the only cars tested with 'G' ratings for all three categories. However, their tests are very specific...chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero.
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Harley-Davidson
Originally Posted by Alan Smithee
. . . According to the IIHS, if you want ultimate safety, buy a Subaru Legacy, Imprezza, Ford 500, Saab 9-3, or Honda Civic. . .
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Last edited by konigstiger; Mar 9, 2007 at 03:31 PM.
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From: Oklahoma City, OK
2007 E550
According to the IIHS, if you want ultimate safety, buy a Subaru Legacy, Imprezza, Ford 500, Saab 9-3, or Honda Civic. They're the only cars tested with 'G' ratings for all three categories. However, their tests are very specific...chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero.[/QUOTE]
The tests only compare cars within a class. A Subaru, Imprezza, F 500, Saab are not the safest cars out there, just in their class.
Having lost both step-parents in seperate car wreaks, I consider myself a novice expert on these ratings. If a Legacy crashes into say a Chevy Suburban, guess what, Subaru looses - 5 star or not. Thats why my wife drives an SUV.
#1 Safety Device - Weight Weight Weight
The tests only compare cars within a class. A Subaru, Imprezza, F 500, Saab are not the safest cars out there, just in their class.
Having lost both step-parents in seperate car wreaks, I consider myself a novice expert on these ratings. If a Legacy crashes into say a Chevy Suburban, guess what, Subaru looses - 5 star or not. Thats why my wife drives an SUV.
#1 Safety Device - Weight Weight Weight
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The tests only compare cars within a class. A Subaru, Imprezza, F 500, Saab are not the safest cars out there, just in their class.
If a Legacy crashes into say a Chevy Suburban, guess what, Subaru looses - 5 star or not. Thats why my wife drives an SUV.
#1 Safety Device - Weight Weight Weight
If a Legacy crashes into say a Chevy Suburban, guess what, Subaru looses - 5 star or not. Thats why my wife drives an SUV.
#1 Safety Device - Weight Weight Weight
I do disagree that (using your example) a Suburban is a safer vehicle than a Subaru, and that the #1 safety device is weight. Greater weight results in poorer stopping distances (especially in SUVs with high centers of gravity), poorer handling dynamics, and therefore less of a chance avoiding an accident.
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Harley-Davidson
Originally Posted by Alan Smithee
. . . if you look at the test results of the Honda Civic, remarkably it did hold up better than the E-class. . .
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Then you need to change your screen name to "live to ride".....
Originally Posted by Alan Smithee
Greater weight results in poorer stopping distances (especially in SUVs with high centers of gravity), poorer handling dynamics, and therefore less of a chance avoiding an accident.
Are the people at IIHS on crack or something? 
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From: San Diego (Chula Vista), CA
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Wait a minute
Um. I know we all love MB cars but personally I find the results unacceptable for a Mercedes E class. safety is the NUMBER ONE priority when I purchase a car and it is above and beyond by far the most important thing for me. Sure you can say there are 3 tests done or whatever but as a customer, as far as I am concerned, it is completely unacceptable to pay this kind of money for a crash test result that is on par with a Honda Civic or worse. If the others cars can do better why can't we expect the 2007 E class to just as well?
I see everyone rushing to defend MB but we are talking about the safety of YOU and YOUR FAMILY here. Don't you think you deserve the best in terms of safety? My point is for a certain test, if all these cars can do better why is it unreasonable to expect MB to do just as well?
I work with numbers and facts in my life. I don't really care how safe I "feel" in a car because it has a star sticking out of the hood. If imperial crash test result figures look bad, that is an issue of serious concern.
I think the original poster has a point and is asking WHY the results for the 2007 is worse. I think someone needs to come up with a plausible explanation so we all know the reason and not go by touchy feely warm fuzzy feelings we get in our cars. Let's discuss some facts and figures and try to find some answers here.
I see everyone rushing to defend MB but we are talking about the safety of YOU and YOUR FAMILY here. Don't you think you deserve the best in terms of safety? My point is for a certain test, if all these cars can do better why is it unreasonable to expect MB to do just as well?
I work with numbers and facts in my life. I don't really care how safe I "feel" in a car because it has a star sticking out of the hood. If imperial crash test result figures look bad, that is an issue of serious concern.
I think the original poster has a point and is asking WHY the results for the 2007 is worse. I think someone needs to come up with a plausible explanation so we all know the reason and not go by touchy feely warm fuzzy feelings we get in our cars. Let's discuss some facts and figures and try to find some answers here.
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Um. I know we all love MB cars but personally I find the results unacceptable for a Mercedes E class...
...I work with numbers and facts in my life. I don't really care how safe I "feel" in a car because it has a star sticking out of the hood. If imperial crash test result figures look bad, that is an issue of serious concern.
...I work with numbers and facts in my life. I don't really care how safe I "feel" in a car because it has a star sticking out of the hood. If imperial crash test result figures look bad, that is an issue of serious concern.
Personally, I'd rather have a car designed to protect occupants at Autobahn speeds than a car designed around very specific test criteria. It's why I mentioned earlier in the thread that "chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero".
Last edited by Alan Smithee; Nov 6, 2006 at 02:19 PM.
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Why such a fuss?
Someone correct me if I am wrong but as far as I can tell, the only car that beat the E-Class in the "Large" category was the Ford Five Hundred. Every other car did worse or the same as the E-Class. According to the IIHS you cannot compare the front impact test accross categories, making a comparison with a Civic inapplicable.In the "Large Luxury" sub-category, nobody beat MB. Then again, it is not clear whether MB is the top rated car in that category. Only the E-Class and the Audi A6 got two G's (good) and one A (Acceptable). These two received the top combined scores. It is therefore clear that the E-Class scored better than:
Lexus GS
Infiniti M35/M45
Cadillac DTS, CTS, STS
BMW 5 (well, sorta, They didn't get tested for side impact but at best can only match the overall MB score)
Accura RL
Licoln Town Car
The only possible contender for top rank was the Volvo S80 which received two G's and was not tested for side impact.
I feel pretty safe in my '07 350.
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From: Oklahoma City, OK
2007 E550
While true, if you look at the test results of the Honda Civic, remarkably it did hold up better than the E-class. My point was that both the autospies article and IIHS test results need to be taken in context...believe me, I'm not rushing down to the Subaru dealer.
I do disagree that (using your example) a Suburban is a safer vehicle than a Subaru, and that the #1 safety device is weight. Greater weight results in poorer stopping distances (especially in SUVs with high centers of gravity), poorer handling dynamics, and therefore less of a chance avoiding an accident.
I do disagree that (using your example) a Suburban is a safer vehicle than a Subaru, and that the #1 safety device is weight. Greater weight results in poorer stopping distances (especially in SUVs with high centers of gravity), poorer handling dynamics, and therefore less of a chance avoiding an accident.
I totally agree that the best safety device out there is avoiding a wreck, and the majoroty of SUV's suck at that, but IIHS is all about crash tests, not accident avoidance. It has been many years since I visited it, but there a site in Europe that factors in those things to come up with a composite score. But when your wrecking, weight is king. F=M*A
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From: Wash. D.C.
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?I went to trade up from a E500 to the S550. When I called myinsurance co. to get a price quote, I asked for a quote on the E63 also. The E63 was cheaper to insure by $400.00. Thier explaination was that the E63 is a "safer car."
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Only in VERY general terms.
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From: West Virginia
2001 E320 RWD - Brilliant Silver/Ash: 100,000+
Physics
Correct, force = mass x acceleration.
We also need to consider P = M1V1 = M2V2. where mass x velocity of vehicle 1 is equal to mass x velocity of vehicle 2.
Therefore, a vehicle weighing 2x as much as another, but going at half the speed has the same "force" or "impact strength" as one traveling 2x as fast, but weighing half as much. The is called the Law of Conservation of Momentum, where momentum is P.
In other words friends, let's drive our ~2-ton Mercedes FAST and we'll be riding in the safest cars on the roads!
My 2 cents worth from my almost-forgotten college intro physics classes
We also need to consider P = M1V1 = M2V2. where mass x velocity of vehicle 1 is equal to mass x velocity of vehicle 2.
Therefore, a vehicle weighing 2x as much as another, but going at half the speed has the same "force" or "impact strength" as one traveling 2x as fast, but weighing half as much. The is called the Law of Conservation of Momentum, where momentum is P.
In other words friends, let's drive our ~2-ton Mercedes FAST and we'll be riding in the safest cars on the roads!
My 2 cents worth from my almost-forgotten college intro physics classes
Last edited by Musikmann; Nov 6, 2006 at 09:35 PM. Reason: adding to message
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Correct, force = mass x acceleration.
We also need to consider P = M1V1 = M2V2. where mass x velocity of vehicle 1 is equal to mass x velocity of vehicle 2.
Therefore, a vehicle weighing 2x as much as another, but going at half the speed has the same "force" or "impact strength" as one traveling 2x as fast, but weighing half as much. The is called the Law of Conservation of Momentum, where momentum is P.
In other words friends, let's drive our ~2-ton Mercedes FAST and we'll be riding in the safest cars on the roads!
My 2 cents worth from my almost-forgotten college intro physics classes
We also need to consider P = M1V1 = M2V2. where mass x velocity of vehicle 1 is equal to mass x velocity of vehicle 2.
Therefore, a vehicle weighing 2x as much as another, but going at half the speed has the same "force" or "impact strength" as one traveling 2x as fast, but weighing half as much. The is called the Law of Conservation of Momentum, where momentum is P.
In other words friends, let's drive our ~2-ton Mercedes FAST and we'll be riding in the safest cars on the roads!
My 2 cents worth from my almost-forgotten college intro physics classes
I'm still interested in someone pointing out what MB did in the 2007 redesign that affected the crash test rating.
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From: Dallas TX
2013 650i Coupe, 2010 IS250 AWD, 1999 S500
Be careful of what you ask for. You may end up with a car that (perhaps the Civic is an example of this?) is designed to pass IIHS tests with flying colors to the detriment of real-world safety. There are plenty of examples of this in cars designed to pass EPA tests to avoiding gas-guzzler taxes at the detriment of real-world driveability (GM's 2nd-4th gear skip shift on high-performing manual transmission models, Porsche's 2nd gear starts in automatic models, for instance), providing false indications real-world fuel economy.
Personally, I'd rather have a car designed to protect occupants at Autobahn speeds than a car designed around very specific test criteria. It's why I mentioned earlier in the thread that "chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero".
Personally, I'd rather have a car designed to protect occupants at Autobahn speeds than a car designed around very specific test criteria. It's why I mentioned earlier in the thread that "chances that an accident will be a duplicate of one of their tests is basically zero".
M
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2013 E350 BlueTEC
Ehhh... just for clarification...
The '07 E-class safety rating did NOT go down. Rather, an additional test was performed, the new 31-mph side test, and the E got an "acceptable" rating for that test.
The frontal crash and side crash are more important than the rear test. Vehicles that get "good" ratings for front/side can either be a Top Safety Pick "silver" (good front, good side, acceptable rear) or "gold" (good front, side, rear). The rear test is an evaluation of headrest design, not structure, crumple zone, etc.
The A6, GS, Infiniti M, 3-series, IS, A4, ES, TL, and Passat all outperformed the E-class in the side crash. The test can be compared among different car sizes (unlike the frontal crash), because the same 3,100 lb barrier flies into the side of each car at the same 31 mph.
The '07 E-class safety rating did NOT go down. Rather, an additional test was performed, the new 31-mph side test, and the E got an "acceptable" rating for that test.
The frontal crash and side crash are more important than the rear test. Vehicles that get "good" ratings for front/side can either be a Top Safety Pick "silver" (good front, good side, acceptable rear) or "gold" (good front, side, rear). The rear test is an evaluation of headrest design, not structure, crumple zone, etc.
The A6, GS, Infiniti M, 3-series, IS, A4, ES, TL, and Passat all outperformed the E-class in the side crash. The test can be compared among different car sizes (unlike the frontal crash), because the same 3,100 lb barrier flies into the side of each car at the same 31 mph.
