How to tell one Benz from the other

Most people get confused by car jargon but a break down can make things simple.
There has been too much modification of cars and indeed, the Mercedes Benz is one of those automobiles that have gone through a series of changes.
Just like people, cars have families which are classified into numbers or classes. Whereas other car makers identify their brands by names, letters or numbers, Mercedes Benz uses classes.
Every manufacturer has what can be called segments or categories.
Let us use our education system as an example of these classes that have over the years expanded due to growing competition.
As a toddler, you start school in baby class then go to kindergarten or nursery before moving on to primary school, secondary school and then to university.
That is what exactly Mercedes Benz does to make its cars excitable, putting advanced improvements on each class.
The small A-Class Mercedes Benz cannot for instance, perform better than the S-Class or the C-Class.
In this case, the A-Class, a hatchback, is the nursery level model before moving to B-Class, a multi-purpose vehicle, which is slightly bigger and longer.
Also unlike the first and second generation A-Classes, today’s has been greatly improved.
However, it should also be noted that the naming of the classes has slightly changed.
The SUVs are named basing on first versions in the same consumer segment. The GLA is based on the A-Class, GLS on the S-Class and GLC on the C-Class.
The classes are pretty much aligned to consumer tastes and in some cases, affordability.
That is why even within the classes, there are subdivisions of Avantgarde, Classic and Elegance and the high performance top of the bill AMG.
There is a class for everyone. That is why there is now a crossover in the GLA and a pick-up in the works to add on to delivery vans, commercial vans, ambulances, light commercial trucks, heavy duty trucks and buses. Of course there is also the important issue of generations. Every class has its own generation with fresh or new classes being the latest in the family tree while the older generations include C, E and S-Class, among others.
Mercedes Benz comes in different formats including sedans, hatchbacks, station wagons, crossovers and SUVs.
They also have vans, buses and trucks that come in different generations but may not necessarily have classes apart from the Viano that is sometimes referred to as V.
Generally, apart from the obviously different body shapes and designs, Mercedes Benzs are differentiated simply by class or specification.

FACT BOX
The competition in the automobile industry has forced car manufacturers into developing a number of modifications with a view of appealing to the wider market.