Governments and private organizations have developed car classification schemes that are used for various purposes including regulation, description, and categorization of cars.
The International Standard ISO 3833-1977 Road vehicles – Types – Terms and definitions also defines terms for classifying cars.
Summary of classifications The following table summarises the commonly used terms of market segments and legal classifications.
Market segments
Microcar / kei car
Microcars and their Japanese equivalent— kei cars— are the smallest category of automobile.
Microcars straddle the boundary between car and motorbike, and are often covered by separate regulations from normal cars, resulting in relaxed requirements for registration and licensing. Engine size is often or less, and microcars have three or four wheels.
Microcars are most popular in Europe, where they originated following World War II. The predecessors to micro cars are voiturettes and cycle cars. Kei cars have been used in Japan since 1949.
Examples of microcars and kei cars:
Honda Life Smart ForTwo Tata Nano
A-segment / City car / Minicompact
The smallest category of vehicles that are registered as normal cars is called A-segment in Europe, or "city car" in Europe and the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines this category as "minicompact." However, this term is not widely used.
The equivalents of A-segment cars have been produced since the early 1920s. However, the category increased in popularity in the late 1950s when the original Fiat 500 and BMC Mini were released.
Examples of A-segment / city cars / minicompact cars: Fiat 500 Citroen C1 Toyota Aygo
B-segment / Supermini / Subcompact
The next larger category of small cars is called B-segment in Europe, supermini in the United Kingdom and subcompact in the United States.
The size of a subcompact car is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as having a combined interior and cargo volume of between . Since the EPA's smaller minicompact category is not as commonly used by the general public, A-segment cars are sometimes called subcompacts in the United States. In Europe and Great Britain, the B-segment and supermini categories do not have any formal definitions based on size.
Early supermini cars in Great Britain include the 1977 Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Chevette.
In the United States, the first locally-built subcompact cars were the 1970 AMC Gremlin, Chevrolet Vega, and Ford Pinto.
Examples of B-segment / supermini / subcompact cars: Chevrolet Aveo (Chevrolet Sonic) Hyundai Accent Volkswagen Polo
C-segment / Small family / Compact
The largest category of small cars is called C-segment or small family car in Europe, and compact car in the United States.
The size of a compact car is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as having a combined interior and cargo volume of .
Examples of C-segment / compact / small family cars: Toyota Corolla Renault Mégane Volkswagen Golf
D-segment / Large family / Mid-size
In Europe, the third-largest category for passenger cars is called D-segment or large family car.
In the United States, the equivalent term is mid-size or intermediate cars. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines a mid-size car as having a combined passenger and cargo volume of .
Examples of D-segment / large family / mid-size cars: Chevrolet Malibu Ford Mondeo Kia K5
E-segment / Executive / Full-size
In Europe, the second-largest category for passenger cars is E-segment / executive car, which are usually luxury cars.
In other countries, the equivalent terms are full-size car or large car, which are also used for relatively affordable large cars that are not considered luxury cars.
Examples of non-luxury full-size cars: Chevrolet Impala Toyota Avalon
F-segment / Luxury saloon / Full-size luxury See Luxury saloon / full-size luxury section below. S-segment / Sports / Performance cars See Sports / performance cars section below.
Minivans / MPVs Minivan is an American car classification for vehicles that are designed to transport passengers in the rear seating rows, and have reconfigurable seats in two or three rows. The equivalent terms in British English are multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), people carrier, and people mover. Minivans are often of the "one-box" or "two-box" body configuration, high roofs, flat floors, sliding doors for rear passengers, and high H-point seating.
Mini MPV
Mini MPV is the smallest size of MPVs and the vehicles are often built on the platforms of B-segment hatchback models.
Examples of Mini MPVs: Toyota Noah Honda Freed Ford B-Max
Compact MPV
The compact MPV size class includes vehicles between the mini MPV and large MPV (minivan) sizes. Compact MPVs remain predominantly a European phenomenon, although they are also built and sold in many Latin American and Asian markets.
Examples of Compact MPVs: Renault Scénic Volkswagen Touran Ford C-Max
Large MPV
The largest size of minivans is also referred to as "large MPV" and became popular following the introduction of the 1984 Renault Espace and Dodge Caravan. Since the 1990s, the smaller compact MPV and mini MPV sizes of minivans have also become popular. If the term "minivan" is used without specifying a size, it usually refers to a large MPV.
Examples of Large MPVs: Chrysler Pacifica Ford S-Max Toyota Sienna
Luxury vehicles
Premium compact
The premium compact class (also called subcompact executive) is the smallest category of luxury cars. It became popular in the mid-2000s, when European manufacturers — such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz — introduced new entry-level models that were smaller and cheaper than their compact executive models.
Examples of premium compact cars: Acura ILX Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class Lexus CT200h
Compact executive / luxury compact
A compact executive car or a compact luxury car is a premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Compact executive cars are equivalent size to mid-size cars and are part of the D-segment in the European car classification.
In North American terms, close equivalents are "luxury compact" and "entry-level luxury car", although the latter is also used for the smaller premium compact cars.
Examples of compact executive cars: Audi A4 BMW 3 Series Lexus IS
Executive / mid-size luxury
An executive car is a premium car larger than a compact executive and smaller than a full-size luxury car. Executive cars are classified as E-segment cars in the European car classification.
In the United States and several other countries, the equivalent categories are full-size car (not to be confused with the European category of "full-size luxury car") or mid-size luxury car.
Examples of executive cars: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Lexus GS Volvo S90
Luxury saloon / full-size luxury
The largest size of a luxury car is known as a luxury saloon in the United Kingdom and a full-size luxury car in the United States. These cars are classified as F-segment cars in the European car classification.
Vehicles in this category are often the flagship models of luxury car brands.
Examples of luxury saloons: BMW 7 Series Lincoln Continental Lexus LS
Sports / performance cars Cars that prioritize handling or straight-line acceleration are called sports cars or performance cars. However the term "sports car" is also sometimes used specifically for lightweight two-seat cars. Sports/performance cars can either be built on unique platforms or upgraded versions of regular cars.
Common categories of sports/performance cars are:
sports car sports sedan / sports saloon supercar hypercar hot hatch sport compact muscle car pony car grand tourer
The definitions for these categories are often blurred and a car may be a member of multiple categories.
Sports car
Sports cars are designed to emphasize handling, performance, or the thrill of driving. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s, with one of the first recorded usages of the term "sports car" being in The Times newspaper in the United Kingdom in 1919.Motor Show. Development of the Sporting Car. The Times (London, England), 12 November 1919; pg. 6; Issue 42255 Sports cars started to become popular during the 1920s."Only it seems after the Great War can we expect to find a general acceptance of the fact that there were on the roads both touring cars and sports cars".--Frostick, Michael; 1956; Racing Sports Cars The term was originally used for two-seat roadsters (cars without fixed roofs). However, since the 1970s the term has also been used for cars with fixed roofs (which were previously considered grand tourers).
Examples of sports cars: Chevrolet Corvette Mazda MX-5 Porsche 911
Sports sedan / sports saloon
A sports sedan — also known as "sports saloon" — is a subjective term for a sedan/saloon car that is designed to have sporting performance or handling characteristics.
Examples of sports sedans: BMW M5 Mazdaspeed6 / Mazda 6 MPS Dodge Charger
Supercar / hypercar
A supercar – also called an exotic car – is a loosely defined description of certain high-performance sportscars. Since the 1990s or 2000s, the term "hypercar" has come into use for the highest-performing supercars.
Examples of supercars: McLaren P1 Koenigsegg Agera R Bugatti Veyron 16.4
SUVs / off-road vehicles Passenger vehicles with off-road capability or styling features are often categorized as either off-road vehicles, sports utility vehicles, or crossover SUVs. There are no commonly agreed boundaries between these categories, and usage of the terms varies between countries.
Off-road vehicle
The earliest type of passenger vehicle is called an "off-roader", "four-by-four" or "four-wheel drive". Off-road vehicles are usually more focused on off-road capability than SUVs and crossover SUVs (often compromising their on-road ride quality or handling). Common features of off-road vehicles are four-wheel drive, high ground clearance, a body-on-frame (separate chassis) construction and low-range gearing.
Examples of off-road vehicles: Nissan Patrol Toyota Land Cruiser Suzuki Jimny
Sport utility vehicle
A sports utility vehicle (SUV) combines elements of road-going passenger vehicles with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive.
There is no common definition of an SUV, and usage varies between countries. Some definitions claim that an SUV must be built on a light-truck chassis. However, a broader definition considers any vehicle with off-road design features as an SUV. In some countries — such as the United States — SUVs have been classified as "light trucks", resulting in more lenient regulations compared to passenger vehicles.
The predecessors to SUVs date back to military and low-volume models from the late 1930s, and the four-wheel drive station wagons / carryalls that began to be introduced in 1949. The 1984 Jeep Cherokee (XJ) is considered to be the first SUV in the modern style. Most SUVs produced today use unibody construction (as per passenger cars). However, in the past, many SUVs used body-on-frame construction.
Examples of SUVs: Chevrolet Tahoe Mercedes-Benz M-Class Mitsubishi Pajero
Crossover SUV
A crossover SUV— also called a crossover or CUV— is a type of sports utility vehicle (SUV) that uses a unibody construction. Crossovers are often based on a platform shared with a passenger car, as a result, they typically have better comfort and fuel economy, but less off-road capability (many crossovers are sold without all-wheel drive) than truck-based SUVs, though more so than passenger four wheels.
There are various inconsistencies about whether vehicles are considered crossovers or SUVs, therefore the term SUV is often used as a catch-all for both crossovers and SUVs.