As far as rear passenger safety is concerned, the sixth generation of the E-Class isn't up to snuff. Due to iffy dummy kinematics and passenger restraints, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety couldn’t award the mid-size sedan anything more than moderate in the updated front moderate overlap crash test.
In the updated test, the rear occupant is a dummy with the physique of a 12-year-old child or small woman. The reason why the nonprofit organization uses a dummy with this particular physique is the lap belt's tendency to slip from the pelvis onto the abdomen, thus increasing the risk of injury.
As you can tell from the footage published by the IIHS on YouTube, the rear-seat dummy's lap belt moved from the ideal position onto the abdomen. The shoulder belt also moved upward, compromising the effectiveness of the restraint system. Because of the aforementioned, the 214-series Executive Class missed out on the coveted Top Safety Pick+ accolade. Instead, the mid-size luxury sedan received the Top Safety Pick award.
Read Article