Mercedes-Benz E-Class earns this year’s Top Safety Award

Both large luxury cars Hyundai Genesis and the Mercedes E Class were awarded the 2010 top safety pick awards by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This award distinguishes top vehicles that gets the best rating of good for front, side, rollover and rear crash protection. It also needs to have an electronic stability control which is one of the many features of both cars. Hyundai officials are very happy as they were recently awarded with the top safety pick for their luxury sedan. What made the occasion more thrilling is that they shared the award with their much expensive rival, the Mercedes E Class.

While the Genesis cost a lot less than the Mercedes E Class, this is the first time the E Class model earned the top safety award. Earlier this year, minor modifications were done to the padding in the front door to increase their protection when a side impact crash occurs. According to the Insurance Institute Highway Safety, the Genesis, who underwent some structural changes this year has also enhanced its roof for more protection in rollover crashes. The recent top safety pick award applies to Genesis models that were made since January 2010, and also the award that pertains to the E Class model are the cars that were built since March 2010.

2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Coupe

After the less-than-satisfying reveal of the 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan, debuting at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show will be the 2010 E-Class Coupe, replacing and effectively killing off the CLK model line.

The four-seater E-Class Coupe is surprisingly the most aerodynamic production car ever, with a Cd of only 0.24, much lower than even supercars. Noteworthy features include frameless doors and fully-retractable windows, although these don’t help the flow of the design as much as they are supposed to.

Three petrol-engined models will be initially available, namely a 204 hp I4-powered E 250 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupé, a 292 hp V6-powered E 350 CGI BlueEFFICIENCY Coupé and a 388 hp V8-powered E 500 Coupé. The E 250 gets a 5-speed automatic, while the others get a 7-speed auto.

The electronic safety are excessive and too many to list. They include an ATTENTION ASSIST system to literally wake up sleeping drivers, PRE-SAFE to prepare a car’s seat-belts and airbags to deploy in an imminent crash, Adaptive Main Beam Assist that keeps re-adjusting the headlights based on lighting and oncoming traffic, DISTRONIC PLUS to brake for you if it thinks you are a retard and are headed for a crash, pedestrian-friendly self-deploying bonnet, and upto nine airbags that includes a knee-bag.

Other features include adaptive suspension settings, screen-based infotainment system, AMG sports kit with 18-inch wheels, various cabin trim choices and more. With an exterior and interior like that, the E-Class Coupe needs all the fancy options it can get to appear appealing.