The prestigious US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has named the Mercedes-Benz M-Class its Top Safety Pick 2007 – the best buy when it comes to safety. The off-roader from Stuttgart performed outstandingly in all areas in the luxury SUV category.

Every year, as a purchasing guide, the experts at IIHS rate new car models according to strict safety criteria. This year, for the first time, they included SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles). In the course of their assessment the second-generation Mercedes-Benz M-Class was subjected to frontal and side-on crashes. The US safety specialists also assessed the level of protection offered against neck injuries in a rear-end shunt. The Mercedes off-roader scored top marks in all three areas. For the first time, one of the criteria for classification as this year’s Top Safety Pick included the availability of an Electronic Stability Program, which can reduce the risk of skidding when cornering and keep the car on track in extreme conditions such as black ice or wet road surfaces. As a safety pioneer, Mercedes-Benz developed the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) in collaboration with Bosch and was the first car manufacturer to introduce it in its series-produced vehicles back in 1995. This system has featured as standard in all Mercedes-Benz passenger cars since 1999.