WEBSRFR

How does the strength of the Pano roof compare to the steel roof? How strong is the glass? What about the padding on the roofliner? What is there to protect your head from hitting the hard surface above in the event of a rollover? A roof airbag would be perfect but I don't think I've seen that in the W211. I'd like to consider this option for my next purchase but I want to first address my safety concerns.

This coming from a person who had a block of ice come crashing down through the sunroof last winter while I was driving. So I'm just concerned about safety. Though statistically that happening again is hopefully very low! I'm curious to know if anyone has any information about the strength of the glass.

MB Fanatic

I just feel that if it wasnt tested beyond Merc's standards it wouldn't have made it to production. I put my two daughters in the back of my E63 and if it wasn't safe I sure as hell wouldnt. I know the roof is reinforced with high strength steel.

WEBSRFR

I was just wondering if anyone had any specifics. I prefer empirical evidence over "faith" For those who have the Pano roof, can you tell me if the roof liner has any type of an impact absorbing material in the inside to cushion your head in the event of a roll-over? I forgot from when I last looked at one.

Kar don

well it is glass so it can break. Roof strength in a roll over, very similar as all the HSLA steel is still in place, just no sheet metal. The only difference is that glass is more brittle and if poked with a sharp object it may penetrate into the cabin in a roll over whereas the sheet metal may deform but not puncture.

Germancar1

I'd pretty much go along with folks are saying here. The roof on an E with this option is no weaker than a regular steel roof as far as crushing is concerned. Glass on the other hand is pretty much going to break if anything of any real weight or size hits it at freeway speeds. I'm sure the glass has been re-inforced to a degree, but it isn't unbreakable. In a rollover you should be belted anyway.

M

sosh

Some time ago I saw an early ML that a young driver had lost control, went into a ditch at high speed and rolled. The roof showed signs of the roll but was not crushed and believe it or not the glass in the sun roof was intact. This one did not have a "skyview" roof though but I was impressed. Driver and passenger escaped with some scrapes and bruises I was told.

Clinton Horn

I have no engineering design skills but I would speculate that a hardtop car would be safer in a rollover. Modern glass is pretty good at retaining all of the splinters in an impact but the strength award has to go to metal. I live in the south and to be honest, any sunroof is of questionable value. I have conventional (non pano) sunroofs in two vehicles and I rarely open the sun shade. It was interesting to me that the Russian M-B club that has been bookmarked in this forum several times, describes my car as having a glass sunroof option. This might be a translation glitch but I wonder if M-B uses metal hatches in some markets (like the old 124 cars)?

JimO'B

Does the pano roof provide a larger sunroof opening when fully open (compared to the standard sunroof), or is the idea just a transparent roof over the passengers?

pa28pilot

There is a glass panel that slides open or tilts up over the front seats and a fixed glass panel over the rear seats. There's a sliding internal cover that extends from the center to cover both when closed.

lkirchner

When fully opened it is much larger than the normal sunroof.

DerekACS

I had a close look at an E63 Pano roof today. The open area of the front section (looking from the inside out) is similar in size to the regular glass sunroof. This section is surrounded by steel reinforcing, hidden under the black glass front and side panels of the roof.
The fixed portion of the Pano roof is slightly larger than the front, but it does not extend over the rear part of the back seats. In other words, for passengers sitting on the back seat, the overhead roof is solid, and the skylight section is further forward.
In a potential roll over situation, I doubt that there would be any significant difference for the safety of front passengers. Both versions have similar glass panels.