A city car is a small, moderately powered automobile intended for use in urban areas. It has four seats, they are typically between 3.4 m and 3.6 m long. These cars have been sold in Europe since the 1960s, and now are an official car classification. Most mainstream manufacturers have one or even two city cars in their lineup. The city car's greater speed and occupant protection allow relatively safe operation in mixed traffic environments and in all weather conditions. One of the earliest city cars was the American-made Crosley, a four passenger vehicle from the late 1940's. While many cars of the 1960s are small enough to be considered city cars today, these cars have been replaced by larger cars with each passing generation. Exceptions are the smaller Fiats, especially the Fiat 500 and Fiat 126. They were in the region of 3.0 meters in length, but had seating for four people, putting them outside the micro car category. wiki city car In the late 1980s superminis had grown so much that many buyers wanted even smaller four-seat cars. Renault followed Fiat in 1993 with the Renault Twingo, which featured a MPV-like design and interior room, despite its size and height (3430 mm long and 1420 mm tall). Combined with an original exterior and interior design, it quickly became a best-seller. In 1996 the Ford Ka was presented with its radical New Edge design. Its egg-shaped body did not leave much room in the rear seats, but many customers did not need them and preferred the Ka over more conservative designs.

In the mid 1990s, South Korean brands Daewoo and Hyundai introduced their city car entries, both for the Asian and European markets. The Hyundai Atos, launched in 1997, was 3500 mm long and 1600 mm high, which was much taller than any European models (usually under 1450 mm) and provided considerable interior space. Its boxy shape provoked mixed reactions.

The Daewoo Matiz followed in 1998 with a Giorgetto Giugiaro design and a moderate height (1500 mm), which proved more eye-catching. Hyundai tried to react to this with the rounder Atos Prime but without much success.

These Korean city cars were much cheaper than most of the European models, especially the Opel Agila (2000) and Volkswagen Lupo (1999), yet were still reliable. However, sales were dominated by the Renault Twingo and Ford Ka.

City car / supermini crossovers

While small family cars and superminis grew considerably from the 1990s to the 2000s, so happened with city cars. After some new superminis were over 3900 mm long (like the Ford Fiesta, the SEAT Ibiza, Maruti Alto and the Volkswagen Polo) some automakers designed models above 3650 mm long.

Car Rental Classification Code

The ACRISS Car Classification Code is a code used by many car rental companies, including Avis, Hertz, Alamo, Europa car and National, for classifying vehicles. ACRISS stands for Association of Car Rental Industry Systems and Standards. The code has four letters, each of which represents an attribute of the vehicle. First letter: Class
M = Mini
E = Economy
C = Compact
I = Intermediate
S = Standard
F = Full Size
P = Premium
L = Luxury
X = Special
Second letter: Type
B = 2 Doors
C = 2/4 Doors
D = 4 Doors
W = Wagon
V = Van (6+ passengers)
L = Limousine
S = Sport
T = Convertible
F = 4-Wheel Drive
P = Pick Up
J = All Terrain
K = Van (cargo)
X = Special
Third letter: Transmission
A = Automatic
M = Manual
Fourth letter: Air Conditioning
R = Yes
N = No wiki Car Classification Code The ACRISS Car Classification Code is a code used by many car rental companies, including Avis, Hertz, Alamo, Europcar and National, for classifying vehicles. ACRISS stands for Association of Car Rental Industry Systems and Standards. The code has four letters, each of which represents an attribute of the vehicle. First letter: Class M = Mini E = Economy C = Compact I = Intermediate S = Standard F = Full Size P = Premium L = Luxury X = Special Second letter: Type B = 2 Doors C = 2/4 Doors D = 4 Doors W = Wagon V = Van (6+ passengers) L = Limousine S = Sport T = Convertible F = 4-Wheel Drive P = Pick Up J = All Terrain K = Van (cargo) X = Special Third letter: Transmission A = Automatic M = Manual Fourth letter: Air Conditioning R = Yes N = No

Car classification is subjective since many vehicles fall into multiple categories or do not fit well into any. Not all car types are common in all countries and names for the same vehicle can differ by region. Furthermore, some descriptions may be interpreted differently in different places. Broadly speaking, there are a set of classifications which are widely understood in North America, and another set which are somewhat understood in English-speaking contexts in Europe. Some terms borrowed from non-English languages may have different meanings when used in their native language.