Vehicle size class

There are many ways of classifying cars. The common North American parlance is word-based (eg, compact car). While English-speaking European writers also use words to describe car sizes, rather than segment numbers or letters, the descriptions used are generally different from the North American terms. In parts of Asia, segment letters are sometimes used.

[Full-size car|Full-size]]||E class||Chrysler 300

North America	EuroNCAP	Segment	Example
Microcar	-		Smart Fortwo
Luxury	Executive car	F class	Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Sports	-		Porsche 911
Convertible	-		BMW 3-Series
Roadster	Roadster		BMW Z4
-	Small MPV	B class	Opel Meriva
-		C class	Renault Scénic
Minivan	MPV	D class	Toyota Previa
Mini SUV	Small Off-Roader	B class	Daihatsu Terios
Compact SUV		D class	Honda CR-V
Mid-size crossover SUV		E class	BMW X5
Mid-size SUV	Large Off-Roader	E class	Jeep Grand Cherokee
Full-size SUV		F class	Cadillac Escalade

North America

Vehicle size classes in use in North America categorize automobiles by their relative lengths and volumes. Widely used vehicle size classes include:

Microcar/Supermini/Minicompact

• Smart

Subcompact car

• Hyundai Accent

Compact car

• Chevrolet Cavalier

Mid-size car

• Toyota Camry

Full-size car

• Toyota Avalon

Minivan

• Toyota Sienna

In Canada, cars are are divided into six classes based on interior volume. An interior volume index is calculated from the combined passenger and trunk or cargo space. Pickup trucks, special purpose vehicles and vans are segmented in their own respective classes.

Class	Two-seater	Subcompact car	Compact car	Mid-size car	Full-size car
Interior size	undefined	under 2830L	2830-3115L	3115-3400L	over 3400 L

Class	Station wagon	Pickup truck	Special purpose vehicle	Minivan	Large van
Interior size	?	?	?	?	?

Europe

Vehicle segments in Europe don't have formal characterization or regulations. Models are attributed a segment based on comparison to generalist brands models. For example, a car the size of a Volkswagen Golf would be its competitor. The VW Polo is smaller, so it belongs one segment below the Golf, while the bigger Passat is one segment above.

For safety ratings, the EuroNCAP uses nine categories:

• Superminis (it includes city cars)
• Small family cars (also for stand-alone saloon superminis, like the Dacia Logan)
• Large family cars
• Executive cars (for expensive cars over 4.80m long)
• Roadsters
• Small off-roaders (similar to the Northmerican crossover SUV category)
• Large off-roaders (similar to the Northmerican SUV category)
• Small MPVs (both mini MPVs and compact MPVs)
• Large MPVs

See also

• US EPA Vehicle Size Classes