In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the AMG C-Class Sedan are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The S5 Sportback doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.
The AMG C-Class Sedan has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The S5 Sportback doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The AMG C-Class Sedan offers an optional Maneuvering Brake Function that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The S5 Sportback doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.
Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The AMG C-Class Sedan offers optional Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The S5 Sportback doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.
The AMG C-Class Sedan has a standard blind spot warning system that uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the S5 Sportback’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the AMG C-Class Sedan has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert and Active Brake Assist automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. Audi charges extra for Rear Cross-Traffic Assist on the S5 Sportback.
The AMG C-Class Sedan’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The S5 Sportback doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.
Both the AMG C-Class Sedan and the S5 Sportback have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, rearview cameras and available lane departure warning systems.
The Mercedes AMG C-Class Sedan 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 an “Acceptable” to “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The S5 Sportback is not even a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2025.