2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class Safety Rating

Large cars · Current IIHS listing · IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Complete evidence record

The 2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class scores 72.7/100, ranking #4 of 4 current large cars and #114 of 137 vehicles overall with complete IIHS records. It does not hold a current IIHS award.

Results below Good: Moderate overlap front (updated test) rated Marginal. Rear-passenger restraints in the updated moderate-overlap test: Marginal; rear-passenger head protection: Good.

72.7
Safety score / 100
Complete record
No award
IIHS award
No current award
#4
of 4 large cars
$63,900
Starting MSRP
Approximate base trim
93
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Front Crash Prevention: PedestrianGood
Front Crash Prevention: Vehicle-to-VehicleAcceptable
Small Overlap Front Good
Moderate Overlap Front: Updated Test Marginal
Side: Updated Test Good
Headlights (Varies By Trim/option) Good
Seat Belt Reminders Good
Latch Ease Of Use Good
Detailed results by test (59 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good

Moderate overlap front: updated test

Overall evaluation Marginal
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Thigh/hip Good
Leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Acceptable
Chest Good
Thigh Good
Rear passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Marginal

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Acceptable
Pelvis Good
Driver head protection Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Good
Rear passenger head protection Good

Headlights

Overall rating Good
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2024-26 models Good
Overall rating Acceptable
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2024-26 models Acceptable

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0

Overall evaluation Acceptable
Overall evaluation Good

Front crash prevention: pedestrian

Overall evaluation Acceptable
Overall evaluation Good

Seat belt reminders

Overall evaluation Good

Child seat anchors

Overall evaluation Good
View the IIHS report

Opens on iihs.org in a new tab

How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
77.5
4/4 reported · small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
70.0
4/4 reported · rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
100.0
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: Good · vehicle-to-vehicle: Acceptable (shown, not scored)
Class context (10%)
25.6
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Rear-seat-priority score
67.4
Alternate published view: rear restraints weighted 20%
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
95.0
Mean of 40 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules →

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate93 per million registered vehicle-yearsLarge cars as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.
Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan 4WD (2017-20) driver death rate0 (95% CI 0–22)Earlier model years of this nameplate; class average for that study 18.5. Reflects who bought and drove those cars as well as the car.
Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan 2WD (2017-20) driver death rate27 (95% CI 5–48)Earlier model years of this nameplate; class average for that study 18.5. Reflects who bought and drove those cars as well as the car.

Compared with other large cars

Closest-scoring current large cars with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every large car ranked →

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2027 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron #1 of 4 TSP+ Good $66,700 92.6
2026 Genesis G80 #2 of 4 TSP+ Marginal $58,450 79.9
2026 Genesis G90 #3 of 4 Marginal $92,700 75.8
2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class (this page) #4 of 4 Marginal $63,900 72.7

Our analysis

The 2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class belongs to the Large cars class. This class has an above-average driver death rate compared with the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years, which usually reflects lighter weight and smaller size in multi-vehicle crashes. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The Mercedes-Benz E Class has no IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026. That can mean a result below the award threshold in one test, or tests IIHS has not completed. Absence of an award is not evidence that the vehicle is unsafe.

Across the 6 IIHS rating categories reported, the Mercedes-Benz E Class earned 5 Good ratings. One result sits below Good; the verdict at the top of the page names it.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with Mercedes-Benz or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

International crash-test results

Euro NCAP (2024)
★★★★★
Adult: 95% · Child: 91% · Pedestrian: 82% · Safety assist: 84%
Overall Best Performer 2024.

International results are supporting context only; market versions differ in structure and equipment, so they are not converted into the U.S. score.

Safety recalls for the 2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class

NHTSA does not yet list this model year in its recall database. That usually means the vehicle is too new to appear, not that it has been cleared.

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2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class safety score 72.7 out of 100

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Questions about the 2026 Mercedes-Benz E Class