Compare the2025 Audi A5VS 2025 Mercedes E-Class Sedan

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.

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, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The A5’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the E-Class Sedan’s (12 vs. 5 years).

The Audi A5’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the E-Class Sedan’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

The A5’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 13 more horsepower (268 vs. 255) than the E 350 Sedan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

The A5 offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better traction, the A5 has larger standard tires than the E-Class Sedan (235/45R18 vs. 225/55R18).

The A5’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the E-Class Sedan’s standard 55 series tires.

Changing a flat tire near traffic can be dangerous and inconvenient. The run-flat tires standard on the A5 can be driven up to 50 miles without any air pressure, allowing you to drive to a service station for a repair. Run-flat tires aren’t available on some tire packages on the E-Class Sedan.

The A5 is 4.8 inches shorter than the E-Class Sedan, making the A5 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A5 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The E-Class Sedan doesn’t offer headlight washers.

The Audi A5/S5/RS 5 outsold the Mercedes E-Class by 51% during 2024.