Both the A5 and E-Class Sedan have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A5 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The E-Class Sedan’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
The Audi A5 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags help prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.
The A5 has standard whiplash protection, which use a specially designed headrest to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the whiplash protection system moves the headrests forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.
In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Audi A5 achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, outperforming the Mercedes E-Class Sedan which scored only an “Acceptable” in these critical safety features.
To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A5. But it costs extra on the E-Class Sedan.
The A5’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the E-Class Sedan.
Both the A5 and the E-Class Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, front seat center airbag, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the A5 is much safer than the E-Class Sedan:
|
|
A5 |
E-Class Sedan |
| Overall Evaluation |
GOOD |
MARGINAL |
| Structure |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Driver Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Thigh/hip Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Leg/foot Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Leg Forces L/R |
360/112 pounds |
427/450 pounds |
| Restraints |
GOOD |
GOOD |
|
|
Rear Passenger Injury Measures |
|
| Head/Neck Rating |
GOOD |
ACCEPTABLE |
| Chest Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Thigh Rating |
GOOD |
GOOD |
| Restraints |
ACCEPTABLE |
POOR |
The Audi A5 has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2025 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned a “Good” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The E-Class Sedan is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.