what is the difference between a C class, E class and S class Mercedes?

Answer 1

Mercedes, since the mid 1990's have made telling their cars apart much easier.

The letter stands for which series the car falls into.
This is from smallest to biggest except the SLK which should fall between the B and C class.
A - Just a bit bigger then the Smart cars
B - Bigger then the A
C - Replaced the old 190 series
CL- Coupe Luxury built on E class chassis
CLK - Couple Convertible built on E class chassis
CLS - Coupe Luxury Sport, the new 4 door coupe
E - Large sedan, comparible to 7 series BMW
S - The biggest they make
SL - Coupe Luxury built on S class chassis
SLK - tiny coupe .. they kind of lost me on this one
SLR - Biggest baddest coupe there is on the road.

SUV's
G - Gelaendewagen or Off Road vehicle. the boxy Jeep type
M - MB's answer to the BMW X5, luxury SUV
R - SUV Tourer, like a minivan

The numbers after the letters tell you what engine size the vehicle has. 320= 3.2 ltr, 500 = 5.0 ltr, 180=1.8 ltr etc...
And if that is followed by:
T -then it is a Transporter or Stationwagon
CDI - it is a Common Rail Turbo Diesel
4 matic - it is all wheel drive.

Ok.. so a E 320T CDI 4 Matic
E-class
3.2-liter V-6
T-stationwagon
CDI-turbo diesel
4 matic-all wheel drive

Now if the car is AMG they drop the last number in the engine size. A E500 with AMG would be a E55. AMG bumps the engine from 5.0 ltrs to 5.5 with a compressor also.

To make things a bit more confusing each car type has a number assigned to a particular body style.
The S class cars from 82-91 were W-126. The E Class cars from the same period were W-124. The old 190's were W-201. A true Benz person will refer to the car by the W numbers.

Clear as Mud or?

Answer 2

well all of them are a Sedan or a family car, but the C class is a bit smaller in 200 kompressor,C230, C320 and etc,that it has two mixed circle front lights
The E-class is a bit bigger than C class with 2 seprated circle front lights ,generally they have better and stronger engines like 320 , 500, 600 ......
And the S-class which is the most luxerious car you have ever seen (apart from Bentley or Rolse roys ).is very comfortable ,very fast,very...... you name it! it has many kind of engines like S320, S500,S600 and etc....