E-Class Saloon from the German manufacturer Mercedes-Benz gained a full five-star Euro NCAP rating. The saloon achieved an impressive 95 per cent in occupant safety and 90 per cent in child safety, with 77 per cent in pedestrian protection and a 62 per cent in safety assistance.
Moreover, the E-Class achieved two Euro NCAP 'Advanced' awards for ‘PreSafe’ and ‘Attention Assist’. With standard safety aids like the ‘Attention Assist’ and ‘Active Brake Assist’, E-Class was worthy of the rating. However many of the other safety features are only available as optional and not standard.
The German saloon has many driver assistance aids, some of these are - Active Brake Assist which can warn the driver of imminent collisions, or provides support with emergency braking and, if necessary, apply the brakes autonomo
usly. Likewise, the Attention Assist with adjustable sensitivity is able to warn the driver of inattentiveness and drowsiness, it also has a Crosswind Assist.
Besides the above mentioned, other driver assistance systems available includes - Drive Pilot, which is close to the automated driving, an Active Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist and Traffic Sign Assist with wrong-way warning function. The E-Class Saloon also has an active bonnet which can be raised by 80mm during an impact to provide additional deformation space. In addition, Active Brake Assist is not only able to recognise slow-moving, stopping or stationary vehicles but also pedestrians crossing in the danger zone in front of the vehicle and can brake autonomously to prevent the pedestrian from the collision. Unfortunately, some of these are still optional.
"The E-Class is head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to advanced safety features. However, we know that the take-up of optional safety features is typically less than 10 per cent, so more needs to be done in terms of standard fitment to make these superb technologies more widely accessible." Thatcham's director of research, Matthew Avery said. Thatcham Research Centre, a key member of Euro NCAP, is a consumer focused vehicle safety organisation, since 2005.
