2022-23 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Earns Highest Safety Award

The redesigned 2022-23 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, a midsize luxury car, earns a Top Safety Pick+ award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

To earn either of the Institute’s two awards this year, a vehicle must earn good ratings in six IIHS crashworthiness evaluations, including the driver-side small overlap front, passenger-side small overlap front, moderate overlap front, original side, roof strength and head restraint tests. It must also be available with a front crash prevention system that earns advanced or superior ratings in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluations.

For the lower-tier Top Safety Pick, at least one good or acceptable headlight system must be available. For the higher-tier Top Safety Pick+, good or acceptable headlights must be standard across all trims.

Available with two variations of headlights and two different front crash prevention systems, the C-Class meets all the requirements for the highest IIHS award.

The standard static LED headlights earn a good rating, while the optional curve-adaptive headlights supplied with the Digital Light Package are rated acceptable. The standard Active Brake Assist front crash prevention system earns a superior rating in the vehicle-to-vehicle evaluation and an advanced rating in the daytime vehicle-to-pedestrian evaluation, while the optional Active Brake Assist with Cross-Traffic Function earns superior ratings in both tests.