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Mercedes Classes Explained

B Y R ICHARD R OW E

Things used to be so simple at the Silver Arrow -- "A" was little, "S" was big,
and everything in between was in between. That's it. Mercedes universally
adopted its class system in the early 1980s, perhaps drawing inspiration
from BMW's similar sizing system using numbers. Back then, few people
had predicted that the automotive world would one day explode into the
massively diverse market it is today, or that Mercedes itself would wind up
building vehicles that seemed neither fish nor fowl in its own
nomenclature. These days, you can still see hints of Mercedes' original size-
classing -- but exception now certainly seems to be the rule.

A-, B- and CLA-Classes

The A-Class certainly follows the original Mercedes size-classing scheme;
this entry-level Baby Benz introduced in 1997 is a compact front-driver that
might have been unrecognizable to Americans as a Mercedes when it was
first introduced. Proportionally, the original version looked a bit like a cross
between a Honda Fit and a Smart ForTwo -- appropriate, since Mercedes
also makes Smart. The modern iteration looks more akin to a Mazda3, and
may or may not enter the North American Market in the near future. The
reason it probably won't is that in 2013, Mercedes began selling the CLA-
Class here. The CLA, famously marketed as "the only Benz under $30,000,"
is effectively a new European A-Class with new sheetmetal, different
engines and optional all-wheel drive. The B-Class is a slightly enlarged A-
Class with more powerful engine options, but is otherwise identical to the
A-Class.

C- and E-Class
In North America, the rear-drive C-Class is a step up in terms of both size
and price from the CLA-Class, with an approximately $5,000 higher buy-in
price for base models. It competes most directly with the BMW 3-Series,
and its popularity reflects its place in this market segment. As of 2014,
Mercedes has introduced an all-new aluminum chassis that's 220 pounds
lighter than its forbear, but the previous-generation car remains on sale.
Engine options include a 2.5-liter diesel, 3.5-liter six cylinder, 4.0-liter
hybrid, 5.5-liter V-8 and a bomb known as the AMG 6.3-liter. It comes in
both coupe and sedan forms. The E-Class is a step up the sizing and pricing
ladder, falling in the mid-sized segment with an approximately 5-inch
longer body. It offers two or four doors, and most of the same engines as
the C-Class, but with more interior room and luxury amenities, and a
$15,000 higher buy-in for base models.

S-Class
The S-Class is Mercedes' flagship sedan, directly competing against the
Audi A8 and BMW 7-Series. True to its name and history, The Big is a high-
speed, luxurious autobahn cruiser that evokes thoughts of a ground-level
private jet while driving. One of the S-Class' more telling options is a 124.6-
inch wheelbase, which is about 5 inches longer than the standard S-Class'
and almost a foot longer than the longest E-Class. And every bit of that goes
to rear leg room for chauffeur-driven customers. It's Mercedes' most
expensive sedan, at about $100,000 for a base model and going for upward
of a quarter million if you tick every option box.

G- and M-Class
To draw analogies in more American terms: the G-Class is a four-door Jeep
Wrangler, an M-Class is a Chevrolet Equinox crossover SUV and the GL-
Class is a new Ford Explorer. The "K" on the end of GLK" means
"Kompact," and ostensibly it's a slightly smaller version of the GL.
However, in reality, it's a high-riding station wagon based on the C-Class
sedan chassis; so, if the GL is a Ford Explorer, then a GLK might best be
compared to a Ford Flex. It competes directly with the Q5 from Audi. The
GLA "compact crossover"...in terms of description, it's almost beyond sense
or reason. Think "very large four-door hatchback with a suspension lift and
optional four-wheel drive." Given that, the closest American equivalent
might actually be the worlds very first crossover: the 1980 AMC Eagle. Of
course, being Mercedes, all of these are far more luxurious, much more
powerful and orders of magnitude more expensive than any other brand
mentioned here. Price-wise, the range starts with the GLA, then the GLK,
M-Class, GL and finally Mercedes' $100,000, current Hollywood "it" car,
the G-Class.

SL-Class
Despite its name, the SL class is in no way, shape or form related to the S-
Class. Far from it: "SL" stands for "Sport Light" in English, and that tells
you everything you need to know about it. The base SLK roadster is the
smallest and cheapest of them at about $45,000, and the The SLS is the
modern incarnation of the classic Mercedes "gullwing" 300SL, a brutally
precise two-seater known as much for its signature upward-hinging doors
as anything else. The SLR, though -- it's known for its AMG-built, 622-
horsepower, 6.2-liter engine and low-11-second quarter-mile times. It's
been called the "German Viper" by the American automotive press, and a
no-holds-barred muscle car by the European press. That would be an easy
case to make, given the engine's gut-punching soundtrack, but a slightly
harder one to make given its $228,000 base price. Of course, you can buy a
base SL for about half that much; the AMG63 engine is a $50,000 option,
which makes it almost a bargain compared to the SLS, and one of the
baddest Mercedes available. Unless, of course, you want to buy a used 2003
to 2010 McLaren SLR.
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Which Minivans Have All Wheel Drive?

B Y R ICHARD R OW E

Minivans aren't an endangered species in the sense that they're likely to

disappear altogether anytime soon -- but crossovers have thinned the herd
quite a bit. Back in the 1990s, manufactures started pushing light trucks
and off-road vehicles in advertising for corporate smog and fuel economy
credits; since then, minivans as a class have been getting steadily shoved
out of the market for vehicles that are effectively minivans, but aren't.
Indeed, for some time, only one manufacturer even offered an all-wheel-
drive minivan.

Extinct GM Models
General Motors was at one time a major player in the four-wheel-drive
people-carrier game. Its truck-based, full-sized four-wheel-drive vans were
legends in their own time. Later S-10-based smaller vans like the Astro and
GMC Safari came with all-wheel drive, but -- being truck-based -- they
weren't technically "minivans." GM's first foray into minivans came with
the 1990 U-platform, which went through two more generations before it
died out in 2009. All minivans based on this platform were offered with
AWD. They included the Chevrolet Lumina APV, Oldsmobile Silhouette,
Pontiac Trans Sport in the first generation; the Pontiac Montana and
Chevrolet Venture replaced their forebears in 1997, and ran through 2005.
Last-generation U-Platform minivans included the Buick Terraza,
Chevrolet Uplander, Pontiac Montana and Saturn Relay.

Chrysler
The Dodge Caravan was the world's first minivan, and it -- along with its
corporate sibling, the Chrysler Town & Country -- were the standard-
bearers for true AWD minivans for more than a decade. Counted together,
these twins have outsold every other minivan in the world, combined. And
they continue to outsell all of them, though the Honda Odyssey, as of 2014,
outsells either of them individually. All-wheel drive first appeared with the
Chrysler Town & Country in 1990, and the Caravan and its little sister the
Plymouth Voyager got it that same year. The option remained on the
Chrysler minivan books -- except for the 1996 model year -- until 2004,
when Stow N' Go seating took up the space formerly reserved for the rear
differential. As of 2014, Chrysler and Dodge minivans come in front-drive
only. However, AWD is slated to return with the Chrysler's 2015 redesign,
which will also include a whole host of interior and chassis refinements and
likely enough power to compete with Honda and Toyota.

Ford and Honda

Ford was never big into the AWD minivan game; since the mid-1990s,
trucks and SUVs have been the company's bread and butter. That remained
true even in the minivan world, as Ford chose to go the same route as GM
and base its Aerostar "minivan" on a Ranger pickup chassis. Again, not
technically a minivan, since minivans are based on cars by definition. But,
they did come with AWD all during the Aerostar's brief production run,
from 1990 through the 1997 model year. The Honda Odyssey is another
minivan that, as of 2014, doesn't and never did come with all-wheel drive.
But Honda, Chrysler's fiercest competitor in the minivan market, isn't
going to get left behind by Mopar. The 2015 model Odyssey is getting a
mid-cycle refresh of its own, and a new AWD system to go with it.

Toyota Sienna
If you were to look up classified ads for "AWD minivans" for sale, you might
get about 10 pages worth of results. Eight of those pages would be nothing
but Toyota Siennas. Since Dodge left the market, Toyota has had a field day
as the only manufacturer still offering AWD minivans. If you own an AWD
minivan newer than 2004, it's a Toyota. And that's no bad thing, because
even in front-drive trim, the Sienna comes in a very close second place to
the Honda Odyssey in auto reviewers' rankings -- well ahead of Dodge,
Chrysler, Nissan or Kia. It handles like an aircraft carrier compared to
Honda's comparatively sprightly offering, but the muscular Sienna can
definitely get down in a straight line. It's hard to say how Toyota will fare
after next year, when juggernauts Honda and Chrysler come to ruin its fun
as the only AWD minivan provider out there. With all three 2015 models
offering new refinement, and plenty of power going to all four wheels, the
sales race will almost certainly end up a photo finish.
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The Differences in the Classes of

Mercedes Cars
B Y LAUR IE JUNK IN S

Mercedes Benz began importing cars to the United States in 1952 and, as of
2010, has 348 U.S. dealerships. Known for luxury and engineering,
Mercedes offers 13 different classes of automobile, from midsized sedan to
military-style utility vehicle. Though several model levels appear within
most of the classes, those models' differences are primarily in engine size
and/or fuel type.

Sedans and Coupes

As of the 2011 model year, Mercedes offers three sedan classes and two
coupe classes. The C-Class sedan is Mercedes' most affordable car, available
in four models: the C300 luxury sedan, C300 and C350 sport sedans, and
the "extreme performance" C63 AMG. The next class up is the E-Class full-
sized sedan, which is available in the E350 sedan or coupe, E350 BlueTEC
turbo-diesel sedan, E550 sedan, coupe or wagon, and the high-performance
E63 AMG. The S-Class is Mercedes' flagship full-sized luxury sedan. The S
sedan is available in the S400 hybrid, the S550 sedan and the S600 sedan.
It also comes in two high-performance models, the S63 AMG and S65
AMG. Mercedes offers two dedicated coupe classes, the CL-Class and the
CLS-Class. The CL is a two-door coupe available in CL550 and CL600, as
well as the CL 63 AMG and CL65 AMG. The CLS is a four-door coupe in two
models, the CLS550 and CLS63 AMG.

SUVs and Crossovers

Mercedes offers four classes of sport utility vehicle, plus a crossover class
reminiscent of a minivan. The GLK350 is the most compact SUV, followed
by the M-Class of mid-sized SUVs. The M-Class includes four models: the
ML350, ML BlueTEC diesel, ML450 hybrid and ML550. The M-Series is
also available in the super-performance ML63 AMG. The full-sized
Mercedes SUV GL-Class is available in three models: GL350 BlueTEC
diesel, the GL450 and the GL550. The G-Class is an off-road utility truck
originally developed for military use and available in two models, the G550
and the G55 AMG. Finally, the R-Class is Mercedes' answer to the minivan
with its R350 crossover and R350 BlueTEC diesel crossover.

Roadsters and Supercars

The SLK-Class replicates the design of a Formula 1 racecar, and comes with
a retractable hardtop that takes the SLK300 or SLK350 from coupe to
roadster in seconds. The SL550 is Mercedes' flagship roadster and, also
featuring a retractable hardtop, still retains an echo of its original style.
Finally, the SLS AMG is the ultimate Mercedes-Benz supercar, featuring an
unmistakable long hood and gullwing coupe body style.
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