From what I know this only really happens with the A and B-Class and the sandwich concept, and for the smart. Because the motor is placed differently in the bay, and is already half under the car. It is not as easy with a normal car.
MB designs its motor to deform themselves, and there is a very strong piece of metal separating the motor from the passenger cell. This piece of metal is designed to make the motor go under the car, but it is not always enough and a big block is harder to handle....
In case of a very very hard crash, a too big motor like an I6 can cause injuries because the front part of the car can't deform enough, because the motor is too big. So either the car absorbs schock and your knees receive the motor, or it does not deform enough and you deform yourself...
In case of AMG, the front structure of the car is reinforced, to handle the bigger and heavier motor. But I am not sure that an AMG offers exactly the same safety as a regular Merc.
That is also a reason why BMW often performs poorly in crash test: the motor is too long and placed further back in the engine bay. Better for the weight balance...not for the safety. MB has not the same weight balance...but is much safer. Question of priority!![]()

As for being a weak response, yes, in technology terms it is weak - an NA engine that hardly revs to 7000 rpm and doesn't make even 100 HP/liter is weak in my book.
Surprise that no one has brought out the issue of reliability. MB has traditionally been conservative with their engine output for the sake of reliability. That's a fair compromise in my book.

If I'm not mistaken the engine is designed to dislodge from the bay and go underneath the car. I could be wrong but I believe that MB has done this for a long time.

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