2007 Mercedes-Benz C Class Safety Review [ 2008 ]
Mercedes-Benz C Class Safety Review
Safety - 8.2 (Very Good)
The 2007 C-Class earns decent scores in federal government crash tests earning 4 stars out of 5 for the passenger and 4 for the driver in frontal crash tests. BusinessWeek says, "Like other Mercedes, the C350 comes crammed with standard safety features." These include electronic stability control and plenty of air bags.
MSN praises "It can be argued that the safety items make Mercedes competitive with Volvo in the safety area, with the C-Class having standard anti-lock brakes, anti-skid traction control system, front-rear side airbags and head-protecting side-curtain airbags."
Accident Avoidance
All C-Class sedans come with an Electronic Stability Program (ESP®) that compares the driver's intended course to the vehicle's response. According to Mercedes, ESP then brakes individual front or rear wheels and/or reduces excess engine power as needed to help correct understeer (plowing) or oversteer (fishtailing). ESP also integrates all-speed traction control, which senses drive-wheel slip under acceleration and individually brakes the slipping wheel or wheels, and/or reduces excess engine power, until control is regained.
Crash Protection
Crash protection features include adaptive dual-stage front air bags and side-impact air bags for the driver and front passenger. In a side impact exceeding a preset threshold, a multi-chamber air bag deploys along the front and rear side windows on the affected side of the car. Adaptive dual-stage front air bags are deployed in response to a frontal impact exceeding a preset threshold of severity. An Occupant Classification System (OCS) automatically turns the front passenger's front air bag on or off based on the weight category determined by weight sensor readings from the front passenger seat.
Rear side air bags are optional, and BusinessWeek notes, "I would definitely suggest paying an extra $385 to add optional side airbags in the rear seats, too, especially if you have kids."
The federal government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gives the 2007 model four stars out of five for the passenger and four for the driver in frontal crash tests, and a top rating of five out of five stars for both the front and rear seats in side crashes. It gets a rollover rating of four out of five stars. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the 2007 C-Class a top rating of "good" in frontal offset tests and a second-best rating of "acceptable" in side impact tests.
