Compare the2025 Mercedes E-Class SedanVS 2025 Toyota Crown

The E-Class Sedan’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Crown doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

The E-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 Crown doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Mercedes E-Class Sedan achieved a “Acceptable” rating - the second highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Toyota Crown has not been tested.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The E-Class Sedan has Car-to-X Communication, a system that seamlessly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The Crown doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure or other vehicles.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the E-Class Sedan has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Alert with Active Brake Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the Crown Limited/Platinum/Nightshade offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the E-Class Sedan and the Crown 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, 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, available all wheel drive and lane departure warning systems.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Mercedes E-Class Sedan is safer than the Crown:

The E-Class Sedan comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Crown’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The E 350 Sedan’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 19 more horsepower (255 vs. 236) than the Crown’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The E 450 Sedan’s standard 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid produces 35 more horsepower (375 vs. 340) than the Crown Platinum’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Car and Driver the E 350 Sedan 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid is faster than the Toyota Crown 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid:

Both the E-Class Sedan and Crown have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The E-Class Sedan has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

The E-Class Sedan has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Crown (17.4 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the Mercedes E-Class Sedan, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only a six-speed automatic is available for the Crown.

The E-Class Sedan’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Crown doesn’t offer launch control.

For better stopping power the E-Class Sedan’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Crown:

The E-Class Sedan’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Crown are solid, not vented.

The E-Class Sedan stops much shorter than the Crown:

For better traction, the E-Class Sedan’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Crown (F:245/45R19 & R:275/40R19 vs. 225/55R19).

The E-Class Sedan’s 245/35R21 front and 275/30R21 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Crown’s optional 45 series tires.

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

The E-Class Sedan has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The E-Class Sedan’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Crown doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The E-Class Sedan’s drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The Crown doesn’t offer drift compensation steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the E-Class Sedan’s wheelbase is 4.4 inches longer than on the Crown (116.6 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the E-Class Sedan is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.3 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the Crown.

The E 350 Sedan 4MATIC handles at .93 G’s, while the Crown Limited pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The E 450 Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.7 seconds quicker than the Crown Platinum (25.8 seconds @ .73 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

The E-Class Sedan has .7 inches more front shoulder room, .1 inches more rear headroom and 2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Crown.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the E-Class Sedan’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Crown’s useful trunk space.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the E-Class Sedan’s rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The Crown doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

The E-Class Sedan uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Crown uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The engine in the E-Class Sedan is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Crown. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat and mirrors in the Crown Limited/Platinum/Nightshade, the E-Class Sedan has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The E-Class Sedan’s standard easy entry and exit feature raises the steering wheel and glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. An easy entry system costs extra on the Crown.

The E-Class Sedan’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Crown’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are optional on the E-Class Sedan to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Crown doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the E-Class Sedan offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Crown doesn’t offer cornering lights. The E-Class Sedan also offers optional adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

A power rear sunshade and manual rear side window sunshades are optional in the E-Class Sedan to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Crown doesn’t offer a rear or rear side window sunshades.

The E-Class Sedan’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Crown has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The E-Class Sedan offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Crown.

The E-Class Sedan’s Active Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Crown Platinum’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

The Mercedes E-Class comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Toyota Crown isn’t available as a station wagon.

The E-Class Sedan is available in both rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive configurations. The Crown doesn’t offer a two-wheel drive configuration.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Mercedes E-Class Sedan and the Toyota Crown, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The E450 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2025 and 2 more times in the last 8 years. The Crown has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

Motor Trend selected the E-Class Sedan as their 2025 Car of the Year. The Crown has never been chosen.