Anyone looking to get into the world of cars, and especially the world of Mercedes-Benz, is in for a real treat. They’re some of the most beautiful and fun to drive cars out there. However, the process can sometimes seem daunting.
One reason is the huge number of acronyms and special terms that Mercedes uses to refer to their different vehicles and different aspects of those vehicles. Combine these acronyms with the fact that many terms are in German, and the English-speaking car enthusiast is facing an uphill battle.
That’s why in this article, we want to eliminate some of the confusion surrounding learning all the different Mercedes-Benz abbreviations and acronyms you should know. Below we’ll go over definitions and explain what things stand for, giving you a great reference to use as you learn more about Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes Class Definitions
One of the first things to learn is what the different Mercedes Classes are. Mercedes sorts their cars by make into a number of different classes. Each referred to by a letter or group of letters. These are the main five classes.
A-Class: Subcompact hatchback
B-Class: Multi-purpose vehicle, slightly bigger engine and dimensions
C-Class: Compact executive cars such as those with estate, saloon, and coupé body styles
E-Class: Midrange executive cars such as those with the estate, saloon, coupé, and cabriolet body styles
S-Class: Full-sized luxury sedan (From the German “Sondler Klasse” which means “special class”)
Coupé versions of these cars have “coupé” at the end of the name (e.g., A-Class Coupé), and cars with the coupé body style and four doors start with CL, creating classes such as the CL-Class, the CLA-Class, the CLC-Class, and the CLS-Class.
Mercedes uses a similar system for naming their SUV’s, prefacing other Classes with GL (short for “Geländewagen,” which refers to an off-road vehicle in German), making classes like the G-Class, GLA-Class, GLS-Class, etc.
To indicate that a car is an electric vehicle you can preface the class name with EQ, resulting in cars like the EQA-Class and EQB-Class.
The SL-Class and SLC-Class (SL standing for “sportlich-leicht,” which means “sport lightweight,” in English) are Mercedes’ most elegant roadsters. And to round off the list, the V-Class is for vans.
Other Important Acronyms and Terms
You may have come across the acronym AMG by now. Mercedes AMG is the high-performance subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz. Their versions of the Mercedes vehicles are more expensive, but higher performing and they offer customizations as well.
4MATIC is Mercedes’ way of referring to their cars with all-wheel drive, and 4MATIC+ is a special version of their all-wheel drive cars produced by AMG.
BlueEfficiency is Mercedes’ eco-friendly initiative, which is focused on making more energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable cars.
Mercedes Parts With Adsitco
Hopefully, this has helped you gain some understanding of the different kinds of acronyms and terms used by Mercedes-Benz to refer to their cars. Regardless of the class or customizations that you’re interested in you’ll eventually need to do some upkeep on your car.
That’s where Adistco comes in. With over 40 years of experience devoted exclusively to Mercedes-Benz, our team is ready to help you by answering any questions you may have about the parts you’re buying for your car. Reach out today to learn more about buying parts from Adsitco.
