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The Mercedes Benz Dictionary – Badges & Terms

Dan4th April 2016

Mercedes Benz Terminology Explained

What does the badge ‘Kompressor’ mean on a Mercedes?
Kompressor is the Mercedes terminology for Super Charging and first started out on the Early W202’s and W208’s with the 230K engine. These are great cars for track/drift days (View Stats Here).
What do CDi on diesels and CGi on petrols mean?
CDi stands for ‘Common Rail Direct Injection’ which began with the diesel facelift W210’s and the W220’s.
CGi stands for ‘Charged Gasoline Injection’ which is relatively new technology for the petrol engines that allows the engine to run with high excess air to improve performance and mostly fuel economy.
What is the meaning of the AMG badge?
A very common badge that not many people understand the meaning of! AMG stands for Aufrecht Melcher Grossaspach where the ‘A’ and the ‘M’ stand for the founders, whilst the ‘G’ stands for their hometown which is Grossaspach.
What is the difference between S, SE and SEL on the older S Classes?
S stands for S Class (Obviously), the E is the SE stands for the German word for Fuel Injection which is Einspritzung in German and finally SEL stands for the Long Wheel Based version of the S Class.
What is the difference between SL, SLK and the SLS?
SL stands for Sports and Light, whereas the SLK stands for Sports, Light and Short (Kurz in German). Both very similar models in terms of design, but the SL was seen as more of a touring/cruiser. The SLS stands for Super Light Super and is the premium car that Mercedes brought out after the SLR.
What are Avantgarde, Classic and Elegance?
The three terms refer to the specification of the car and this usually starts with the base model being the Classic. The Elegance and Avantgarde Specs are both good, but usually the Avantgarde specification contains more features and is usually the sportier of the two with stiffer/lower suspension. There are also older models that have the words ‘Sportline’ that are associated with W124’s. This is very similar to what Avantgarde is today.