Safety is Luxury
Measurements of luxury in the automotive world vary; most agree that vehicle luxury is defined by the car's trim level, interior comforts, or the number of gizmos. However, an often overlooked factor is safety – the more money shelled out for a vehicle, the safer it should be than most.
There are even certain luxury brands that prioritize safety as one of their unique selling points (USP). Mercedes-Benz was one of the pioneers of certain safety features that are now commonplace, such as the crumple zone, ABS, and airbags.
Then again, this doesn't mean the German marque will never fall short on safety. In this case, it's the 2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class, which got a not-so-stellar safety rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Misses the Mark
With a pedigree like that, our expectations of any Mercedes-Benz when it comes to safety are high. It seems that might not be the case for one of their vehicles: the 2026 E-Class, while generally good, had some test parameters that didn't score so well.
Starting with the good news, the E-Class scored the top "G" or "Good" rating in the Small Overlap Front test, which assesses the driver-side and passenger-side components. If the results of the two evaluations differ, the combined small-overlap rating equals the lower rating. Things start to look worse during the Moderate Overlap Front test, where the E-Class scored a shockingly low "M" (Marginal) rating for the rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics.
It also only got an "Acceptable" score for head and neck injuries for the rear passengers, while during the side impact test, it only got an "Acceptable" score for the driver's side torso. This all added up to a "Marginal" overall score for the moderate overlap front test. Looking at the other test parameters, the E-Class received only "A" ratings for the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pedestrian crash prevention systems.
Safer Than Most
While a marginal score isn't ideal, overall, the test shows the 2026 Mercedes-Benz E-Class is still safer than most. However, if you consider more affordable options (and some equal competitors), there are some that score way higher than this model, and that is where the brand needs to improve.
For an automaker that has a tagline of "the best or nothing," the three-pointed star has some work to do on the safety side.
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