Jump to content

Car classification

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by GraemeLeggett (talk | contribs) at 14:22, 28 September 2005 (→Compact car). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Car classification is a somewhat subjective subject, as many vehicles fall between classes or even outside all of them. Not all car types are sold in all countries and names differ in some cases between British and American English. The following are commonly used classifications within the Wikipedia. Where applicable, the relevant EuroNCAP classifications are shown.

Microcar

Smart

Straddling the boundary between car and motorbike, these vehicles have engines of only a few hundred ccs, typically seat only 2 people, and are generally unorthodox in construction. Many only have three wheels. They are especially associated with post-war Europe, where their appearance led them to called Bubble cars. A contrast to the traditional microcar is the modern Smart.

Examples:

Hatchbacks

Supermini/Sub-compact

File:Seat Ibiza 2003.jpg
SEAT Ibiza

This class, known as superminis in Europe and sub-compacts in North America, covers the next smallest vehicles. These vehicles are the smallest cars widely sold in the North American market. They are typically hatchbacks with two or four doors and are designed to seat two adults and two children, but can take four adults. In Japan, a specially restricted type of these called the keicar is a popular class of car.

The Mini was the first successful mass production mini-car in Europe, going on sale in 1959 as the Austin Seven or Morris Mini Minor. It was the only major choice in the mini-car sector until the Rootes Group launched its rear-engined Hillman Imp four years later. Around the same time, an Italian rival - the Fiat 500 - was also launched. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, the Mini was a huge successful for the BMC and later BL combines which produced it. The Fiat 500 remained hugely popular in Italy and most other European countries until production finally halted in 1974. Mini sales began to fall after 1980 following the launch of the Austin Metro, a larger and more modern alternative to the Mini, but it actually outlived its 'replacement' and remained on sale until the year 2000. During that time it took its place as one of the most iconic cars of all time.

By the 1970's, small cars were getting bigger and hatchback bodystyles were favoured over the traditional saloon. The first successful compact hatchback in Europe was the 1971 Fiat 127, which was a strong seller in Italy but struggled to find homes elsewhere because it had such a notorious reputation for being rust-prone. Other successful hatchback mini-cars from the 1970's included the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Fiesta, Opel Kadett City (Vauxhall Chevette in the UK) and Peugeot 104.

The 1980's saw the compact hatchback market reach its peak. British Leyland began the decade by introducing the revolutionary Austin Metro, which was sold as a more practical alternative to the ageing Mini. 1983 saw two major mini-car launches on the continent: Peugeot with the stylish Pininfarina-penned 205 and Fiat with the Giugiaro-styled, spacious Uno. Both cars lasted well into the 1990's and were hugely popular all over Europe. Vauxhall/Opel replaced the Chevette/Kadett City with the all-new Nova/Corsa.

The first major compact hatchback launch of the 1990's was the Renault Clio, which arrived in 1990 as successor to the long-running R5. The R5 continued until 1995 but its sales slumped after the launch of the Clio, which shot straight to the top of the supermini class and set the benchmark for style, build quality, comfort and driver appeal. Peugeot launched two major mini-cars during the 1990's: the compact 106 in 1991 and the larger 206 in 1998. The 106 was Peugeot's first step in phasing out the hugely popular 205 range, which finally bit the dust seven years later when the larger 206 went on sale. Nissan launched a curvy all-new Micra in 1992 and the new car, built at its Sunderland plant, was the first Japanese car to be voted European Car of the Year. Fiat replaced the long-running Uno with the all-new Punto in 1994, and the new car set class-leading standards of style and economy. At the same time, the third generation Volkswagen Polo was launched. Ford launched its quirky entry-level Ka in 1996, slotting the new model into the range below the Fiesta.

The 21st century has seen several major mini-car launches. In the year 2000, Volkswagen completed the transformation of the once-maligned Skoda company by launching the well-built, comfortable and economical Fabia supermini. Within two years, the Fabia's chassis had spawned all-new versions of the Volkswagen Polo and Seat Ibiza. 2000 also saw Vauxhall/Opel launch the completely new Corsa which became hugely popular largely thanks to its spacious and comfortable interior which gave it a big-car feel. BMW launched an all-new Mini in 2001, but the new model was more of a style statement than the runabout that the previous model - it was powered by 1.6 engines and the cheapest model in the range cost £10,000. Citroen replaced the Peugeot 106 derived Saxo with the five-door C3 in 2002 and the three-door C2 in 2003. Both cars were strong sellers thanks to their competitive asking price, low running costs, distinctive styling and spacious interiors. Renault launched its third-generation Clio in 2005, and 2006 will see new versions of the Vauxhall/Opel Corsa and Fiat Punto.

Examples:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Superminis'.

Compact car

Usually referred to the longest hatchbacks or the smallest family cars. Nowadays they are about 4.20 metres long, and their engines are usually around 1.6 [litre|L]] to 2.0 L.

The first successful small family hatchback in Europe was the Volkswagen Golf, which first went on sale in 1974. By the end of the decade, several other manufacturers had followed Volkswagen's suit by launching the likes of the following - Fiat Ritmo (Strada), Renault 14 and Opel Kadett (Vauxhall Astra). But the Volkswagen Golf remained the most popular small family hatchback in Europe and its successors have followed suit over the last 30 years.

The 1980's began with the launch of two revolutionary front-wheel drive hatchbacks: the Ford Escort and Lancia Delta. More similar cars followed over the decade, including the updated Opel Kadett (Vauxhall Astra), Renault 19, Fiat Tipo and second generation Rover 200. Alfa Romeo's venture into this market, the Nissan-based Arna, was one of the few unsuccessful European small family hatchbacks of the 1980's.

The 1990's saw small family hatchbacks firmly pitch themselves as the most popular sector of car in Europe. The third generation Volkswagen Golf was launched in 1991 and elected European Car of the Year, shortly after Citroen finally broke into the market with its ZX. The ZX's chassis spawned the Peugeot 306 in 1993. Fiat replaced the successful Tipo with the distinctive Bravo (three-door) and Brava (five-door) in 1995. Ford replaced the long-running Escort with the dramatically-styled and all-new Focus in 1998.

Some family hatchbacks have spawned compact MPVs, the first of which was the 1996 Renault Megane Scenic. The Volkswagen Touran (Golf based), Fiat Multipla (Brava/Bravo based) and Citroen Picasso (Xsara based) are all a similar concept.

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Small Family Cars'.

Hot Hatch

VW Golf GTI Cabriolet

A Hot hatch is a performance hatchback based on standard superminis or small family cars, with improved performance, handling and styling. Hot hatches make up a large section of the market for hatchbacks.

Examples:


Family car

Longer than hatchbacks, typical layouts include sedan / saloon and station wagon / estate. This class make up the largest percentage of vehicles in most countries.

Small family cars:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Small Family Cars'.

Large family cars:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Large Family Cars'.

Executive car

An executive car is also known as a luxury saloon, or, in the U.S., simply a luxury car. These vehicles are typically four-door sedan/saloon cars. They are typically very roomy, very powerful and very luxurious. This also makes them very expensive.

Mid-size executive cars:

Large executive cars:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Executive Cars'.

Sports Car

A Honda NSX

This small lightweight class combines performance and handling. Often inspired by racing vehicles. This class ranges from sporty vehicles such as the MX-5 to derivatives of true racing thoroughbreds such as the Lotus Elise.

Examples:

Muscle Car

The Muscle car is a peculiarly American type of sports car, popular from the 1960s until a combination of spiralling insurance costs and the 1973 energy crisis largely killed off the category. A smaller offshoot, the Pony car, still exists in the form of the Ford Mustang. The epitome of brute-force power, these cars shoe-horned giant engines into mid-sized cars (by the then US standard) which were often, from the factory, inadequate to handle the power and performance; handling was subordinate to straight-line acceleration.

Examples:

Grand Tourer

Jaguar XK8

Larger than a sports car, these high performance vehicles typically have a 4 seat or 2+2 layout.

Like supercars, GTs can be extremely expensive, and often combine modern technology with hand-built construction.

Examples:

Supercar

Lamborghini Gallardo

An ultra-high performance car, typically very expensive and luxurious or exceptionally fast. Supercars typically contain cutting-edge technology, and can be assembled partly or completely by hand.

Examples:

See also: List of supercars

Convertible

Also called an open saloon, roadster or drop-head coupe, this type of car has a roof (fabric, vinyl, metal or glass) which can be folded away. Convertibles were very popular in hotter places before the advent of automotive air-conditioning. They remain popular in certain countries, paradoxically including the UK with its relatively wet climate. Many models are small sports cars with two seats, but there are also popular convertible versions of larger cars such as the Saab 9-3 and the BMW 3-Series.

Examples:

SUV

Also know as an off-roader, four-wheel-drive, 4x4 or 4 by 4. There are two general trends among SUVs - real off-roaders, usually utility vehicles with a truck chassis and LUV, Luxury Utility Vehicle with high specification body and interior, most with a moncoque chassis. Their offroad capability is often compromised by a low ground clearance. However, Traction Control rather than complex differential arrangements can give them good capability in many offroad situations, particularly sand and graded roads.

SUVs have severe problems with crash incompatibility, and are typically of more primitive design than smaller cars. Combined with serious handling issues in some vehicles due to the high centre of gravity, this makes them a dangerous vehicle in inexperienced hands.

A new category of Crossover SUVs are based on car chassis and mitigate many of the criticisms of truck-based SUVs.

Crossover SUV

Examples:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Small Off-Roaders'.

Off-roader

File:Hmmwv model.jpg
Miltary HMMWV

Examples:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Large Off-Roaders'.

Minivan/MPV

Also known as people carriers, this class of cars resemble family cars but are taller with a shorter hood/bonnet and are designed for maximum practicality. They come in two sizes. The larger class of cars almost always have more seats than conventional family cars, usually seven or eight in three rows. The smaller class of cars most commonly have five seats but some have six or seven in two or three rows.

The increased height of these vehicles above a family car improves visibility for the driver (while reducing visibility for other road users) and may help access for the elderly or disabled.

Minivans suffer from poor fuel economy in comparison with lower profile vehicles, due to their increased air resistance and mass. In addition they have problems with crash incompatibility with smaller vehicles.

Small MPVs

Citroën Xsara Picasso

Smaller minivans are typically a supermini or a compact car with the cabin space stretched vertically to resemble a minivan.

Smaller MPVs suffer less from some of the problems associated with their full size brothers, such as fuel economy and crash incompatibility, but do not always have the extra seats or storage space that full size minivans have.

Examples of supermini MPVs (some of them are also considered superminis):

Examples of compact minivans:

Both categories are equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'Small MPVs'.

Minivan

Dodge Grand Caravan

Larger minivans offer more seats and increased load capacity over a family or executive car. They are typically half way between a car and a minibus, and are usually restricted to eight seats, as many countries license vehicles over eight seats differently from cars.

Examples:

This category is equivalent to the EuroNCAP class 'MPVs'.

Other

Brass Era car

Personal luxury car

Recreational vehicle

Vintage car

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Car_classification&oldid=24234366"