Here in Spain, most car reviewers try to position the SUVs in relation to which car is based. It follows the same rules as normal cars but with the suffix "-SUV", for example, a Golf is a C car, so a Tiguan is a C-SUV.
And in developing markets like India, cars are segmented purely by cost. The Tiguan is a D segment car by cost and the cheaper "Taigun" is a Compact SUV in C segment.
I once drove 5 people and their luggage for the next week to Croatia in my Polo GTI. My tallest friend (1.96m) had to sit in the front as he couldn’t sit comfortably in the back, so my girlfriend and the rest of the girls had to sit in the back. I was surprised how well it all worked out. Not to mention I did Ikea runs and picked up massive television sets for the tall friend when he moved. The practicality of the tiny cars shouldn’t be underestimated.
as an american, watching how you categorize which types of people/families typically go to each segment is so funny since here, a lot of young couples just have smaller cars then the second a baby comes around upgrade to the biggest honking suv or minivan possible and wind up never using any of the actual space in the cars outside of maybe a big road trip once a year.
@@tweefruit here is how my family cars life evolve among the year AB BB ( first baby) BC (second baby) BD (teenagers eyes) MD MDJ ( first son gets license) ADJ ( second son gets license scrapps M car and buy a A car instead)
.. or how the typical S.E. Asian people choose cars which is to just go with an MPV. MPVs surprisingly are still the king for most people in my country, Indonesia.. - Hauling lots of people? ✅ - Hauling cargo? ✅ - Taxi service? ✅ - Luxury options? ✅ (something like the Toyota Alphard/Lexus LM) - Gas/Diesel/Hybrid/Electric options? ✅ An MPV genuinely can do all the stuff most people need, although i do see the rise of SUVs as well nowadays.
@@AbrahamArthemius But in western markets (such as in Europe), they have become a meme for being boring. They have a high center of mass, and soft suspension tuning. Couple that with an engine that makes around 100 hp, it’s quite obvious to see why they are seen as boring in more affluent markets. People who need a larger car either buy a crossover or a station wagon. The only kind of people I know that would take an MPV over anything else are extremely tall people, because for them, an MPV is the only comfortable option.
Im guessing because we a sedan society. Lots of folks hate hatchbacks and wagons. As mentioned in the video sedans are widely impractical. Very much style over substance. A trunk is worthless and they have very low roof lines. So when people have a kid they go for a CUV because a sedan is very impractical but a hatchback is ugly to them and a wagon is rare and also ugly. Also the higher ride height is so much simpler to live with. Modern sedans and hatchbacks are significantly lower than they were decades ago. Just impractical cars now all about gas efficiency and driving dynamics which we don't necessarily care about. Also I've noticed brands in Europe add a lot more features to small cars in car reviews than they do over here. Small cars. Especially the A and B segment here are bottom of the barrel and very low quality. In fact many of the last ones from the 2010s were lower quality in everyway, other than a few tech bits, than many peoples first used cars in the 2000s. So that segment was just really uncompetitive. Just a possible subconscious reason people might have when looking for a family car in my head. At the end of the day, I think its mostly because hatchbacks and sedans just embraced style and got more impractically personally and offer less than many SUVs. Not that all SUVs are worthwhile or make much sense. I had a 2018 Honda Fit and seriously won't ever consider buying a small hatchback again.
The M-segment is so underappreciated. When car manufacturers put their mind to it, they can come up with INCREDIBLE designs. The Renault Scenic is today a soulless, generic, trendy SUV, but the previous model was an incredibly well-designed MPV. It had huge rims which helped make it more luxurious, sweeping headlights, a bicolour scheme, and an amazing interior. The Renault Espace was like this too, as shown in your video. I hate how SUVs are replacing everything now.
yes, the Name even is a lie, they are neither sporty nor utilitarian and even if they would be, they are even LESS used for their ground clearance than those american penis size compensators and people would be better of with a Merc B-Class rather than a GLA/GLB
Well but this happens because people don't buy MPV's anymore, the car industry is for the most part supply and demand, if something is demanded it will be built and once people stop buying it it will be discontinued. This isn't always true but most of the time it is and it does happen with MPV's so whether you or the car manufacturer like it, people aren't buying them nearly as much as they used to and rather go for Crossovers or SUV's thus MPV's are becoming rarer and get less time put into their development because they aren't as important leading to cars being discontinued or like you mentioned not looking and being the best anymore.
@@Low760 If you want a specific car and your local dealer doesn't have that you can always go to the manufacturers website which usually allows you to place an order on any car you want. There are several ways of getting the car that you are looking for whether it is new or used, the popularity of SUV's cannot be boiled down to just "dealers are conning people that want vans into buying them" because while for some cases this is probably true, there is zero chance that most of SUV sales are done because people get conned into buying them by a dealer, that's just not realistic.
I love B-segment cars. Perfect combination of small, efficient, practical, and fun to drive. I appreciate that many of them have higher rooflines than a C-segment car, so even though they have slightly less cargo space, they are usually easier to load, and just as useful.
@@fenn_fren Sadly I am in the US and we basically have NO options anymore, haha. The B-Segment is almost entirely dead here. I really loved my 2014 KIA Rio and felt it had plenty of power for its size. Now I own a C-segment Mazda3, but even cars that size are disappearing from our market... :(
0:25 According to this, B-segment are cars like Hyundai I20, which have lower roofline than both C(I30) & tallest A(I10) segment, ig they're the lowest regular hatches in the category. But I like cars being low, not "tall boy" concept like the I10. Cars smaller than "A-segment" definitely exists till date, for eg :- Suzuki Alto(for Asian markets) & Micros, but aren't mentioned in this video.
@@fenn_fren They're actually the best balanced for performance & efficiency, if you talk about Hyundai's line up of I10, I20, & I30(maybe discontinued).
And he was 100% right, for once. Coupe of course comes from French, and originally, it was with the apostrophe, so: coupé. And the apostrophe on top of the last letter e in french SPECIFICALLY MEANS THAT THE E IS *NOT* SILENT, which it would be without. So pronouncing "coupé" as "coop" is just dead wrong.
@@nlpnt Even we in Germany can speak it right. It's *Coupé* - it means 'cut' in English - and I think it's not sounding affected to talk like this. We also have a short version for it which sounds the same in German: QP. The German Q is spoken like 'koo' (like in 'cool') and the German P is almost like 'pay' (more similar to the french ending é). There you have it.
As auto lobbyists successfully bribed their way into (U.S.) politics, pick-ups are not considered to be cars, but rather light trucks, exempting them from many environmental and safety regulations.
@@GoogleDoesEvil said " I wish newer diesel pickups were exempt from crazy environmental regulations. " Right on man !!! Why should I have to spend $$$ on a delete and tune so I can smoke out minions in their little cars. I want a factory smoke button. I also want factory tires sticking out beyond the fenders so I can kick up rocks breaking windshields of these cars as well. FREEDOM !!!!!
Considering how much variety there is in the J and S classes, it would be far from practical. I'm sure Lamborghini owners would be very happy if they would be taxed the same as MX-5/Miata owners, unless of course the tax would be set according to Lamborghini, in which case the compact sports car section would die out completely in Europe.
A segmant cars are funniest cars to drive around, since not only they only come with anything basic meaning manual gear box, manual handbrake, pretty much no driving assistance. they are also super easy to loosen up, fooling araound and brings you the exitment of parking in the smallest place you can find!!
@@goncalo33 what do you see as light? I've tried an Aygo which had a weird clutch that wouldn't engage for a solid second after I lifted my foot, but my current car is an A segment (or b? is the swift 4 a or b lol I can't tell) and the clutch feels fine
@@Suzumi-kun It's A-segment of hatches, but the classification is so vague as for now in hatches that it won't match the current ideal of A-segment hatches mentioned in the above comment.
Also there's the effect of cars growing with each generation. Today's Polo is the same as a Golf several generations back. Which makes today's "Kompaktwagen" really the middle of the market and the "Mittelklasse" creeping into the upper class ... Note that the "large but not so luxurious car" used to exist, I'm thinking of Opel Rekord, Ford Granada, Citroen CX. Or certain Volvos that in their home market were considered an every person's car despite their size. I also find it stupid that new cars very often look fat while not offering a lot of space inside. Some of it is due to improved safety which means thicker walls (you don't get side impact protection with the paper thin doors of a 2CV), but it looks like the art of using space efficiently is getting lost. And the disappearing M segment is part of it. By the way, with an electric drive the stupidity of high front hoods that only block the view isn't even necessary. You'd have a bit more frunk but since people only use it for storing the power cable they could just as well have a short and sloping hood that won't hide that child you're about to run over.
The difference between a Golf and a Polo nowadays is the small size difference and rear suspension. C segment cars for the last few years started switching to multilink rear suspensions whilst B segment cars have stuck using torsion beam axles.
The large affordable cars of the past are the same size as D-segment cars today. A modern VW Passat is the same size on the inside as Volvo 740 and larger than an Opel Rekord.
A-segment is always my favorite, so practical and fun. And as a big guy, spacious. For some reason I tend not to fit in other cars, who always seem to have lower roofs and such. the A-segmant feels like the only vehicle that's designed around the driver, while the rest seem to be designed by the marketing compartmens.
Many moons ago I worked for Ford in Product Development, and all the product lines development code followed more or less the same logic, e.g. B562 was the Ford Ka+, C519 the current Focus, D568 Taurus (Chinese market)...and then to confuse everyone, they had CD391 for Mondeo/Fusion...and then the Aussie Falcon restored the logic with our Large Falcon on the E8 Platform. All these codes still etched in my brain 😂
B-Segment is labelled as 'eco-car' in Thailand due to the government policy in 2010s which subsidised cars in this segment for the first car buyer. We also sub-segment all the SUVs by using sedan classification plus SUV like B-SUV (Yaris cross, Peugeot 2008), C-SUV (Mercedes GLA, BMW X1 etc).
In the F-Segment I know of some 4 cylinders, the S-Class Series 221 Facelift had a S250 CDI in its last production years (2011-2013), the following 222 also had the S 300 BlueTEC Hybrid also had the same OM651 Diesel with 204 hp but additional electric motor. And the G11/G12 BMW 730i, 740e (PHEV) and 725d had 4 cylinders. These literally had the largest bandwith of engine options from 4 to 12 cylinders.
As a driver of an MPV, I find it sad that crossovers did take over from them, because MPV's usually looked allright. And they didn't try to pretend to be something that they aren't, they were simply just taller and bulkier hatchbacks for daily driving.
Your point of view is clear and rational, but after having spent a huge amount of money for a car, many people find OK pretending to be someone they are not, e.g. driving vehicles that pretend to be able to climb Himalaya (but actually cannot).
@andreamassara590 The majority of SUVs aren't even trying to convince anyone they are going to climb a mountain though. MPVs and hatchbacks just arent desirable or anymore
I would really like a MPV. But they only make large ones here in the US. And they are so unnecessarily low they are rather pointless to me. Ground clearance comes up a lot. Im not going offroading outside dirt. But modern cars like mpvs, hatchbacks, etc have gotten so low beyond my needs. I dont need the greatest handling car just to get to work. Even outside ground clearance the lowness of a sedan is so ridiculous and unnecessary. A MPV does have a better ride height So CUVs and SUVs it is because that's the only logical practical thing on the market. Not saying all of those are worthwhile of course.
@@baronvonjo1929 Mini-MPV's are tricky, because they lack with the hauling capability of normal MPV (unless you hook a trailer to it), but it has the benefits of the normal MPV with the roomy interior and comfortable ride. And I guess it also depends that can those rear seats be removed, Renault was probably the most clever with those, as they could be easily either removed or flipped up to make the car into a small van basically. But those were never sold over there iirc. But yea, I think that if you need a car that can survive some bumps and holes in some places during daily drives, MPV's are not really up to the task at that point. Pickups and vans are definitely designed for that kind of punishment. I don't think there has ever been an MPV that would have higher and beefed up suspension haha
It was bad enough in the Focus, which they tried to sell in America despite the lack of a carbon tax meaning there was NO reason to choose it over the standard understressed 2.0 NA.
In NZ & Australia, E-segment cars from Ford and GM (Holden) were the most common police and taxi vehicles for years, and ranged from everyday to luxury trim.
Commodore and Falcon fell under E-Segment? Huh, til, thought it fell under D-Segment. Has many of the same features as D-Segment in Europe, with many trims from basic to luxury and different body styles like in Australias case, the ute, and coupé (Monaro)
@@sheeple04 The Falcon & Commodore (& Kingswood) were all E-segment by Euro standards. The D-segment was filled by the Ford Cortina/Sierra/Mondeo and Holden Torana/Camira/Vectra.
Must have been nice being a criminal in Australia, you get a ride on an executive level car. And you even get to take the back seat, like the really big bosses do!
Nice one again Ed! Timing is perfect (just ready to chill after work). Greetings from a proud F segment car owner 😂 - chevy SSR = S - troc roadster = J - avantime = M - 1007 = L(ooneybin)
15:08 What I've heard in the last years is that SUVs and crossovers are simply classified by length like normal cars and are then called "[Letter] segment SUV"
3 years ago I traded down from a C segment car (Nissan Almera) to an A segment one. I bought a property last year and when I moved my decorating gear into the new place I was delighted that I could fit a 7 tread step ladder into my diminutive Hyundai i10! It is surprising how practical these city cars can be.
I do have an idea for the J, M, and S segment but TBH it's still rather lazy. Why not just combine the 2 letters where the front would be it's current J, M, or S while the latter would be the length based A to F segment? For example, the Suzuki Jimny has a length of 3,625 meters and would fit as an A-segment so under this new class, it'll be a JA-segment. In contrast, the Mercedes GLS is a SUV with a length just above 5 meters thus making it a JF-segment. This way, it could fix the really broad classification of the standalone segments while keeping it familiar enough with the pre-existing A to F system.
Your are cooking here, If you have a abarth 695 you would hava a SA car, a Alpine A110 would be a SB car and the maclaren and mercedes would be SE's and hypercars are SF
@@bob_._. among my colage colegues we joke around with witch has a peugeot 208 a c3 or Corsa even if they are all the same car all of ours company cars are one of this
@justpf it is in Russia My friend got a hyundai solaris as a company car after reaching a certain position with the purpose of her driving around doing her job related tasks ...which she doesn't have as none of her duties require her to leave the office, but hey a free car lol
Whilst your Euro segments don't mean much to us here in America, your pictures of so many novel European models make me extremely jealous... especially in the field of sedans. That lime green Bentley reminds me of the new 1969 Thunderbird that I purchased, glistening in its Lime Gold Metallic paintwork.
It is a real shame that every car in America became either white, silver, gray, or black. But hey, if you get really really lucky, you may find one in non-metallic red!
That lime green Bentley and similar cars are so expensive, it doesn't matter anymore, just import them from Europe to the US. Even paying for the freight and all the paperwork, I doubt it would become more expensive than it costs in the Europe with all the taxing.
@@Kierdziol Don't blame the manufacturers for this, they can make a profit from every paintwork. So even in Europe, car manufacturers actually offer quite radical colours, people just don't usually want them. Reason number one: white, silver and gray cars are easiest to sell forward. Most buyers are at least okay with these colours, whereas "lime green" is too specific to many people's liking. Reason number two: not all want to draw attention to themselves, like having a lime green car or some other vivid colour would imply.
I rode in a golden Rolls-Royce once. That's because my wife insisted that we rented that for our wedding. The rental company still have that car, as far as I know, over 20 years later.
The car Industrie actually uses a different system. The Polo is A0, Golf is A, B is A4/3/C class, C is A6/5/E Class, D is A8/7/S Class. And SUV and sportscars are rated by the Plattform they are based on. Audis Internal Codes for their cars are based on this: The current A5 is the B10, the current A6/7 is the C8 and the current A8 is the D5.
In the US, C-segment seems to be the base for most vehicles. If it's sold as a midsized car in Europe, it'll be marketed as small and economical in the us. The E and F segments are virtually identical, though, as there are very few large inexpensive cars left. Most have been replaced with SUVs or luxurious versions of pickups. The sales points of the Lincoln Town Car are the same sales points of the Lincoln Navigator.
For all practical purposes, with MPV's and SUV's it is much more common to just use the A to F segments again. Something like a Renault Captur would be considered a B-segment SUV, while the Megane Scenic ould be C-segment MPV. Which not always works that well with models ending up kinda inbetween segments.
10:55 I am really happy that u mentioned the French also made executive cars, Renault's last executive car was the 2015 Latitude before they switched to smaller Talismane which sadly also got discontinued, Peugeot also had the 2010 607 shown in the video before they switched to smaller 508, Citroen had the amazing 2012 C6 with the hydropneumatic suspension which sadly failed miserably even tho it was as comfortable as an S class, AFAIK, the only french executive car currently still being made is the Citroen sub-brand, DS9
SSR -> Commerciale Van/Pickup (a pickup is a pickup) T-Roc -> J (though in my opinion B would fit better) 1007 -> A (it’s not a people carrier, the doors are for convenience) Avante -> M (it was a two door minivan, and I loved it so much) The system also helps rental cars companies.
12:05 The W221 S-Class had a 4-cylinder option in the S250CDI model. Not many people bought it but I think they're really cool; lower running costs of an E-segment car with the luxury of an F-segment car.
The Willys Jeep was the first mass produced UTILITARIAN 4x4. The later build by Jeep Wagoneer is seen as the source of the outbreak of the SUV pandemic today. Jeep was not the first, the first 4x4 car ever was build by Spijker in 1903 for race.
@@obelic71 yes but in places where we didn't have a lot of variety (ex. in Ex-Yugoslav countries), most people refer to crossovers/SUVs as "Jeeps" or "Jeep-like" cars, as they have seen Jeeps in a lot of American movies.
@@obelic71Ironically in the US the ford explorer was the first real SUV bought by the masses, as it rode like a car and wasn't that expensive. The wagoneer was a great vehicle, but they were really expensive.
@@rustbeltrobclassic2512 The European Equivalent to the wagoneer was the Range Rover who was also a luxury and expensive 4x4. Ulitarian Diesel powered 4x4''s like the Land Rover ,Land cruiser/Hilux, Pajero, Patrol, G-wagen. were still the norm till the SUV hype came to Europe in the early 2000's Those 4x4's were just heavy duty work/farm vehicels like the pickup (US) and Ute in Australia.
You did not enjoy doing this one, but you still did a fantastic job ! That is a real mark of your excellence. When you are excited it is far easier to be good at it. This one, you had to struggle and that work paid off !
The problem I have with the A-F segment ranking is that large cars from mainstream brands can be considered a class higher than they actually are. I'm not being a brand snob or anything I'm just saying it can get confusing when comparing models. For example the Opel/Vauxhall insignia would be considered an E-segment car by length since its over 4.9m long; yet the Insignia competes more with D-Segment cars like the Ford Mondeo. I think price and market position should definitely be considered when comparing different segments of cars.
While this has absolutely nothing to do with this video, I think it deserves saying... Anytime life gets heavy, stressful or depressing & I'm looking for a diversion, I go to my "Subscriptions" and increasingly, I will land on EAR. Ed, you are incredibly likable. Your narration is likewise incredibly likable. And your videos are just a delight. Always light hearted, well documented & informative. Ed... kudos & thanks for all your efforts! And please... keep 'em coming.
The ranaul Avantime and the Peugeot 1007 should be on segment M since they are (monovolume) single space plataform the t-roc cabrio is a segman J since is a T-roc; the chevy is a commercial vehicle there for is not part of this list
Perhaps with the CUV/SUV passenger vehicles, it could be JA, JB and so on. In the USA, the unofficial segments by the media and reviewers (mini, subcompact, compact, midsize, full size) are mostly based on passenger area interior volume. A vehicle like my Mazda CX-30 is considered a crossover, a 'subcompact' a station wagon for registration category by my state, for government stats a 'Truck' (for pollution standards) by Mazda in the USA. If a the EU had a 2 letter designation, by length, it would likely fall into the 'compact' or JC.
7:34 in Australia you need a Toyota landcruiser Prado or kleuger to carry one kid apparently! My wife does fine with a Mazda3 sedan with three kids and I have a Commodore wagon, which is a E size car, and the same as the Passat, though the Passat is bigger than 4.8m. and of course a 6l v8.
I was recently helping my mum find a new car and spent a bit too much time looking into this myself, so I've noticed a few interesting things. J stands for jeep, as in the generic, slightly old-fashioned term for an off-road vehicle rather than the US car brand that popularised it. I'd guess most pickups probably fall under this category too, but... I've noticed that recently SUVs are being sorted into subcategories of other segments rather than the J-segment. So things like that VW T-Roc Convertible would probably fall under the B-SUV Segment along with things like the Suzuki Jimny and Nissan Juke. These feel a bit unofficial though, as entry-level luxury SUVs like the BMW X1 & Range Rover Evoque are sometimes lumped in with these instead of C-SUV where you might expect them, and the bigger SUV segments feel very undefined.
I must say there's something between the A-segment and the 45km/h grannies "scoot mobiel" or L6e. The L7e! You can drive one with a B-license, it goes up to 90km/h and are lovely for singles/childless couples. That might be interesting to take a look at. Some examples: Microlino, Renault Twizy, Xev yoyo, Ligier. Greetings, previous proud owner of a Twizy and now a Microlino
My first car was an Audi A6 4b C5 2.8 V6 Quattro, and my second was an Audi 100 C4 4A 2.3 Line 5. I dont know in which Section they are but in Germany we say that they are in the "obere Mittelklasse". So i never had a real small car like the A or B section, and i have to say that i wouldn't want any of these. Not that i hate them, but i just like bigger cars more.
Hahaha brilliant explainer vid, Ed. To me, those strange crossovers in styling and design like the Chevy SSR, VW T-Roc Convertible and Peugeot 1007 and so on won't fit in any box, because they were meant to be out-of-the-box vehicles in the first place. But, if it were that such cars HAVE to be placed in a box, I would suggest the letter ' i ' for simply being interesting. 👍
Large sedans are almost all gone in the US. The Crown Victoria hasn’t been sold here for more than a decade, and the Taurus was also discontinued a number of years ago.
we call the tip of the spear F22 here in norway :P they mostly require a taxer to go over the car before insurance is cleared. know a dude whos job was to test drive amazing cars in the 2000´s J segment is from "Jeep"
J, M and S seem like prefixes or suffixes that would be added to the A to F segments. Like how a FIAT 500 would be a A segment car, the 500L a CM segment car, and the 500X a CJ segment car.
I've noticed that most of the time a lot of car reviews base the segment off of the price of the car more than anything else, they classifie some car as B-SUV altough they have C-segment dimension mainly because they have B-segment prices (so usually they start below 30.000€)
The new renault megane e-tech: A C-segment car which is smaller than a new VW Polo, a B-Segment car. The new honda city: bigger than a M segment mpv but it still counts as a B segment car.
funny because the auto review market never uses the J-segment to designate all the other cars. They describe a crossover just as a "b-segment car but higher" or something along those lines. "this Tiguan is just like the Golf on the inside, but it's a little higher" always in those terms instead of 'J-segment'
3:59 and seemingly have to comply to ever more demanding profit margins and dividends for executives and shareholders, despite the excessive inflation that +15 years of crossover-SUVs have created.
You'd think that they would come up with a new segment for SUV's and crossovers in America, too. But they haven't. I own 2 SUVs/crossovers, 1 station wagon, and 1 hatchback. But if you look at the registration for them, I own 3 station wagons and a hatchback. SUV's and crossovers are considered station wagons. The vehicles are a 2007 Saab 9-3 Aero wagon 6spd, a 2019 Audi S5 sportback, a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport, and a 2024 VW Tiguan.
To make extra sense, i have a 1997 Ford Explorer, wich is very obvious a suv. But the dutch goverment registers it as a stationwagon wich would make it fall in the same categorie as my daily driver a focus stationwagon.
Nobody use J-segment for crossovers and S-segment for convertibles in general. The A,B, C and D still cover them. E.g. the Peugeot 3008 is a C-segment crossover/SUV. And the Fiat 500 convertible is a A-segment convertible. The same goes for the average brands "luxury" cars. The taxi from Mercedes is a D-segment in the media, together with the Ford Mondeo ... Also: all of the mentioned segments have EV alternatives. Something you would imagine someone from the Netherlands to understand.
You want another test The is a Car that is a C-segment and has a not 1.0,not 2.0 but a 6.0L W12 in it and its a Hatchback. It exists,kind of Rare. And if some people know what car I mean,you are a true car guy.
MPVs aren't dying as they are mostly being replaced by more van based mpvs like the Ford Tourneo Courier/Connect/Custom, Benz V Class, VW Caddy, Multivan, & ID Buzz, all of the Stellantis MPVs etc.
So for the test, I would say the first car falls into the S-segment because, in my opinion, it’s more convertible than pickup, the second falls into the J-segment because despite its roof being removable, it is more SUV than convertible, the third is in the A-segment because, let’s face it, two’s a crowd when the doors slide shut, and the last is in the unlisted W-segment: whatever the f*** you like! 😆😁 Also, my first car was a S-segment car (Toyota Camry Solara convertible) and my current vehicle is in the J-segment (Honda Hr-V). Sending you good vibes from Florida!
In the countries where tax is according to the engine displacement, D and E segment cars sold with small 1.6 liters turbo (or lower) with top trim line. You can easily find an Opel Insignia OPC Line with 1.6 diesel or MB E class with 1.5 turbo (sold as E180). So it is not just base models. If you want a bigger 2.0 liter "so-called base" engine the purchasing price easily doubles :(
Here in Spain, most car reviewers try to position the SUVs in relation to which car is based. It follows the same rules as normal cars but with the suffix "-SUV", for example, a Golf is a C car, so a Tiguan is a C-SUV.
That makes sense. Everyone should do that. And though a lot of SUV's aren't based on regular cars, they can still fit in a size class.
And in developing markets like India, cars are segmented purely by cost. The Tiguan is a D segment car by cost and the cheaper "Taigun" is a Compact SUV in C segment.
Italy too.
@@willy5169 That's hilarious: The A6, 5 series and the E class are what is actually a "C" Segment car.
In my country, we separate SUVs based on their available engines, so the Tiguan would be an SUV variant of the Passat in the D segment.
I once drove 5 people and their luggage for the next week to Croatia in my Polo GTI. My tallest friend (1.96m) had to sit in the front as he couldn’t sit comfortably in the back, so my girlfriend and the rest of the girls had to sit in the back. I was surprised how well it all worked out. Not to mention I did Ikea runs and picked up massive television sets for the tall friend when he moved. The practicality of the tiny cars shouldn’t be underestimated.
This. Most of the "practicality" is just clever marketing so the buyer feels compeled to buy the bigger and more expensive car.
as an american, watching how you categorize which types of people/families typically go to each segment is so funny since here, a lot of young couples just have smaller cars then the second a baby comes around upgrade to the biggest honking suv or minivan possible and wind up never using any of the actual space in the cars outside of maybe a big road trip once a year.
@@tweefruit here is how my family cars life evolve among the year
AB
BB ( first baby)
BC (second baby)
BD (teenagers eyes)
MD
MDJ ( first son gets license)
ADJ ( second son gets license scrapps M car and buy a A car instead)
.. or how the typical S.E. Asian people choose cars which is to just go with an MPV.
MPVs surprisingly are still the king for most people in my country, Indonesia..
- Hauling lots of people? ✅
- Hauling cargo? ✅
- Taxi service? ✅
- Luxury options? ✅ (something like the Toyota Alphard/Lexus LM)
- Gas/Diesel/Hybrid/Electric options? ✅
An MPV genuinely can do all the stuff most people need, although i do see the rise of SUVs as well nowadays.
@@AbrahamArthemius But in western markets (such as in Europe), they have become a meme for being boring. They have a high center of mass, and soft suspension tuning. Couple that with an engine that makes around 100 hp, it’s quite obvious to see why they are seen as boring in more affluent markets.
People who need a larger car either buy a crossover or a station wagon. The only kind of people I know that would take an MPV over anything else are extremely tall people, because for them, an MPV is the only comfortable option.
Im guessing because we a sedan society. Lots of folks hate hatchbacks and wagons.
As mentioned in the video sedans are widely impractical. Very much style over substance. A trunk is worthless and they have very low roof lines.
So when people have a kid they go for a CUV because a sedan is very impractical but a hatchback is ugly to them and a wagon is rare and also ugly.
Also the higher ride height is so much simpler to live with. Modern sedans and hatchbacks are significantly lower than they were decades ago. Just impractical cars now all about gas efficiency and driving dynamics which we don't necessarily care about.
Also I've noticed brands in Europe add a lot more features to small cars in car reviews than they do over here.
Small cars. Especially the A and B segment here are bottom of the barrel and very low quality. In fact many of the last ones from the 2010s were lower quality in everyway, other than a few tech bits, than many peoples first used cars in the 2000s. So that segment was just really uncompetitive.
Just a possible subconscious reason people might have when looking for a family car in my head. At the end of the day, I think its mostly because hatchbacks and sedans just embraced style and got more impractically personally and offer less than many SUVs.
Not that all SUVs are worthwhile or make much sense.
I had a 2018 Honda Fit and seriously won't ever consider buying a small hatchback again.
@@justaguy9224 so basically just people with low self-esteem and buying a car so they look "cooler" than following the head
The M-segment is so underappreciated. When car manufacturers put their mind to it, they can come up with INCREDIBLE designs. The Renault Scenic is today a soulless, generic, trendy SUV, but the previous model was an incredibly well-designed MPV. It had huge rims which helped make it more luxurious, sweeping headlights, a bicolour scheme, and an amazing interior. The Renault Espace was like this too, as shown in your video. I hate how SUVs are replacing everything now.
yes, the Name even is a lie, they are neither sporty nor utilitarian and even if they would be, they are even LESS used for their ground clearance than those american penis size compensators and people would be better of with a Merc B-Class rather than a GLA/GLB
Well but this happens because people don't buy MPV's anymore, the car industry is for the most part supply and demand, if something is demanded it will be built and once people stop buying it it will be discontinued.
This isn't always true but most of the time it is and it does happen with MPV's so whether you or the car manufacturer like it, people aren't buying them nearly as much as they used to and rather go for Crossovers or SUV's thus MPV's are becoming rarer and get less time put into their development because they aren't as important leading to cars being discontinued or like you mentioned not looking and being the best anymore.
The vw multivan is a great people mover.
@@Z38_USpeople are conned by the dealers into buying shitbox SUVs because they are in stock even if they want a van.
@@Low760 If you want a specific car and your local dealer doesn't have that you can always go to the manufacturers website which usually allows you to place an order on any car you want.
There are several ways of getting the car that you are looking for whether it is new or used, the popularity of SUV's cannot be boiled down to just "dealers are conning people that want vans into buying them" because while for some cases this is probably true, there is zero chance that most of SUV sales are done because people get conned into buying them by a dealer, that's just not realistic.
I love B-segment cars. Perfect combination of small, efficient, practical, and fun to drive. I appreciate that many of them have higher rooflines than a C-segment car, so even though they have slightly less cargo space, they are usually easier to load, and just as useful.
They're pretty good. Only thing keeping me away are the weak engines. However, that's starting to become less of an issue thanks to turbocharging.
@@fenn_fren Sadly I am in the US and we basically have NO options anymore, haha. The B-Segment is almost entirely dead here. I really loved my 2014 KIA Rio and felt it had plenty of power for its size. Now I own a C-segment Mazda3, but even cars that size are disappearing from our market... :(
@@krudmuphinstudioz Yep. Only SUVs and pickups, or "trucks" as you call them. It is a real shame you guys don't get any variety at all.
0:25 According to this, B-segment are cars like Hyundai I20, which have lower roofline than both C(I30) & tallest A(I10) segment, ig they're the lowest regular hatches in the category. But I like cars being low, not "tall boy" concept like the I10.
Cars smaller than "A-segment" definitely exists till date, for eg :- Suzuki Alto(for Asian markets) & Micros, but aren't mentioned in this video.
@@fenn_fren They're actually the best balanced for performance & efficiency, if you talk about Hyundai's line up of I10, I20, & I30(maybe discontinued).
10:02 "Coupe is where you keep the chickens"
- Jeremy Clarkson
And he was 100% right, for once. Coupe of course comes from French, and originally, it was with the apostrophe, so: coupé. And the apostrophe on top of the last letter e in french SPECIFICALLY MEANS THAT THE E IS *NOT* SILENT, which it would be without. So pronouncing "coupé" as "coop" is just dead wrong.
@@pyridonfaltis9761 Counterpoint; "coupay" sounds affected.
@@pyridonfaltis9761 atleast dutch did it right with coupé
@@nlpnt Even we in Germany can speak it right. It's *Coupé* - it means 'cut' in English - and I think it's not sounding affected to talk like this. We also have a short version for it which sounds the same in German: QP. The German Q is spoken like 'koo' (like in 'cool') and the German P is almost like 'pay' (more similar to the french ending é). There you have it.
@@nlpnt "Coop" makes you sound like you've only heard of one language
As auto lobbyists successfully bribed their way into (U.S.) politics, pick-ups are not considered to be cars, but rather light trucks, exempting them from many environmental and safety regulations.
I wish newer diesel pickups were exempt from crazy environmental regulations.
Environmental and safety regulations were invented by globalists to control your life and destroy the world.
@@GoogleDoesEvil said " I wish newer diesel pickups were exempt from crazy environmental regulations. "
Right on man !!!
Why should I have to spend $$$ on a delete and tune so I can smoke out minions in their little cars. I want a factory smoke button. I also want factory tires sticking out beyond the fenders so I can kick up rocks breaking windshields of these cars as well. FREEDOM !!!!!
@@bobroberts2371 Nice bait
@@GoogleDoesEvil It would be nice if we didn't have to have environmental regulations, but...
I was surprised to learn that this classification system was not invented for taxation purposes
Considering how much variety there is in the J and S classes, it would be far from practical. I'm sure Lamborghini owners would be very happy if they would be taxed the same as MX-5/Miata owners, unless of course the tax would be set according to Lamborghini, in which case the compact sports car section would die out completely in Europe.
Not officially, but we're talking about Europeans here, there's that...
Tax, with the exception of VAT, is entirely the remit of member states. And I doubt that I'll live long enough to see that change.
I had a c section car. The vag will never be the same.
Oh that sucks. That must mean you have to exit the vehicle through the window each time.
After the D 😂
You mean vag-on
After the D and E sections I believe.
1980s Honda City is literally a C section car, you can open its guts and reveal a scooter named Motocompo
A segmant cars are funniest cars to drive around, since not only they only come with anything basic meaning manual gear box, manual handbrake, pretty much no driving assistance.
they are also super easy to loosen up, fooling araound and brings you the exitment of parking in the smallest place you can find!!
Their clutches are too light, sadly. I didn't buy a C1 nor a Picanto for that reason.
@@goncalo33 what do you see as light? I've tried an Aygo which had a weird clutch that wouldn't engage for a solid second after I lifted my foot, but my current car is an A segment (or b? is the swift 4 a or b lol I can't tell) and the clutch feels fine
@@Suzumi-kun It's A-segment of hatches, but the classification is so vague as for now in hatches that it won't match the current ideal of A-segment hatches mentioned in the above comment.
Pretty much all basic models of A, B and C sections in Europe at least are manual by default, and automatic is something that costs extra.
Also there's the effect of cars growing with each generation. Today's Polo is the same as a Golf several generations back. Which makes today's "Kompaktwagen" really the middle of the market and the "Mittelklasse" creeping into the upper class ...
Note that the "large but not so luxurious car" used to exist, I'm thinking of Opel Rekord, Ford Granada, Citroen CX. Or certain Volvos that in their home market were considered an every person's car despite their size.
I also find it stupid that new cars very often look fat while not offering a lot of space inside. Some of it is due to improved safety which means thicker walls (you don't get side impact protection with the paper thin doors of a 2CV), but it looks like the art of using space efficiently is getting lost. And the disappearing M segment is part of it.
By the way, with an electric drive the stupidity of high front hoods that only block the view isn't even necessary. You'd have a bit more frunk but since people only use it for storing the power cable they could just as well have a short and sloping hood that won't hide that child you're about to run over.
The difference between a Golf and a Polo nowadays is the small size difference and rear suspension. C segment cars for the last few years started switching to multilink rear suspensions whilst B segment cars have stuck using torsion beam axles.
The large affordable cars of the past are the same size as D-segment cars today. A modern VW Passat is the same size on the inside as Volvo 740 and larger than an Opel Rekord.
Yep.
A-segment is always my favorite, so practical and fun. And as a big guy, spacious. For some reason I tend not to fit in other cars, who always seem to have lower roofs and such. the A-segmant feels like the only vehicle that's designed around the driver, while the rest seem to be designed by the marketing compartmens.
I always look forward to your videos, Ed.
Many moons ago I worked for Ford in Product Development, and all the product lines development code followed more or less the same logic, e.g. B562 was the Ford Ka+, C519 the current Focus, D568 Taurus (Chinese market)...and then to confuse everyone, they had CD391 for Mondeo/Fusion...and then the Aussie Falcon restored the logic with our Large Falcon on the E8 Platform. All these codes still etched in my brain 😂
I like how this channel includes many type of cars from around the world
B-Segment is labelled as 'eco-car' in Thailand due to the government policy in 2010s which subsidised cars in this segment for the first car buyer. We also sub-segment all the SUVs by using sedan classification plus SUV like B-SUV (Yaris cross, Peugeot 2008), C-SUV (Mercedes GLA, BMW X1 etc).
In the F-Segment I know of some 4 cylinders, the S-Class Series 221 Facelift had a S250 CDI in its last production years (2011-2013), the following 222 also had the S 300 BlueTEC Hybrid also had the same OM651 Diesel with 204 hp but additional electric motor.
And the G11/G12 BMW 730i, 740e (PHEV) and 725d had 4 cylinders.
These literally had the largest bandwith of engine options from 4 to 12 cylinders.
As a driver of an MPV, I find it sad that crossovers did take over from them, because MPV's usually looked allright. And they didn't try to pretend to be something that they aren't, they were simply just taller and bulkier hatchbacks for daily driving.
Your point of view is clear and rational, but after having spent a huge amount of money for a car, many people find OK pretending to be someone they are not, e.g. driving vehicles that pretend to be able to climb Himalaya (but actually cannot).
@andreamassara590 The majority of SUVs aren't even trying to convince anyone they are going to climb a mountain though.
MPVs and hatchbacks just arent desirable or anymore
I would really like a MPV. But they only make large ones here in the US. And they are so unnecessarily low they are rather pointless to me. Ground clearance comes up a lot. Im not going offroading outside dirt. But modern cars like mpvs, hatchbacks, etc have gotten so low beyond my needs. I dont need the greatest handling car just to get to work.
Even outside ground clearance the lowness of a sedan is so ridiculous and unnecessary.
A MPV does have a better ride height
So CUVs and SUVs it is because that's the only logical practical thing on the market. Not saying all of those are worthwhile of course.
@@baronvonjo1929 Mini-MPV's are tricky, because they lack with the hauling capability of normal MPV (unless you hook a trailer to it), but it has the benefits of the normal MPV with the roomy interior and comfortable ride. And I guess it also depends that can those rear seats be removed, Renault was probably the most clever with those, as they could be easily either removed or flipped up to make the car into a small van basically. But those were never sold over there iirc.
But yea, I think that if you need a car that can survive some bumps and holes in some places during daily drives, MPV's are not really up to the task at that point. Pickups and vans are definitely designed for that kind of punishment. I don't think there has ever been an MPV that would have higher and beefed up suspension haha
8:51 Never gonna forget Ford trying to sell the Mondeo with a 3-cylinder 1.0 engine during the 2010s
It was bad enough in the Focus, which they tried to sell in America despite the lack of a carbon tax meaning there was NO reason to choose it over the standard understressed 2.0 NA.
In NZ & Australia, E-segment cars from Ford and GM (Holden) were the most common police and taxi vehicles for years, and ranged from everyday to luxury trim.
Commodore and Falcon fell under E-Segment? Huh, til, thought it fell under D-Segment.
Has many of the same features as D-Segment in Europe, with many trims from basic to luxury and different body styles like in Australias case, the ute, and coupé (Monaro)
@@sheeple04 The Falcon & Commodore (& Kingswood) were all E-segment by Euro standards. The D-segment was filled by the Ford Cortina/Sierra/Mondeo and Holden Torana/Camira/Vectra.
Must have been nice being a criminal in Australia, you get a ride on an executive level car. And you even get to take the back seat, like the really big bosses do!
Nice one again Ed! Timing is perfect (just ready to chill after work). Greetings from a proud F segment car owner 😂
- chevy SSR = S
- troc roadster = J
- avantime = M
- 1007 = L(ooneybin)
15:08 What I've heard in the last years is that SUVs and crossovers are simply classified by length like normal cars and are then called "[Letter] segment SUV"
No comment, except DON’T STOP doing these fun, informative videos!
3 years ago I traded down from a C segment car (Nissan Almera) to an A segment one. I bought a property last year and when I moved my decorating gear into the new place I was delighted that I could fit a 7 tread step ladder into my diminutive Hyundai i10! It is surprising how practical these city cars can be.
I do have an idea for the J, M, and S segment but TBH it's still rather lazy. Why not just combine the 2 letters where the front would be it's current J, M, or S while the latter would be the length based A to F segment?
For example, the Suzuki Jimny has a length of 3,625 meters and would fit as an A-segment so under this new class, it'll be a JA-segment. In contrast, the Mercedes GLS is a SUV with a length just above 5 meters thus making it a JF-segment.
This way, it could fix the really broad classification of the standalone segments while keeping it familiar enough with the pre-existing A to F system.
Your are cooking here,
If you have a abarth 695 you would hava a SA car, a Alpine A110 would be a SB car and the maclaren and mercedes would be SE's and hypercars are SF
This is too much logic for the car industry to handle!
Makes sense, but I think we should switch the letters around so we can get BJ-class
"company car you get with an entry-level position" 🤣Yup, we're definitely talking Europe here.
exactly my thought! I don't think company car is a thing in Europe anymore...
@@bob_._. among my colage colegues we joke around with witch has a peugeot 208 a c3 or Corsa even if they are all the same car all of ours company cars are one of this
It is in Germany@@justpf
@justpf it is in Russia
My friend got a hyundai solaris as a company car after reaching a certain position with the purpose of her driving around doing her job related tasks
...which she doesn't have as none of her duties require her to leave the office, but hey a free car lol
@@justpfIt is?
Are you European? Because it doesn’t seem like it.
14:26 J is for Jeep.
Whilst your Euro segments don't mean much to us here in America, your pictures of so many novel European models make me extremely jealous... especially in the field of sedans. That lime green Bentley reminds me of the new 1969 Thunderbird that I purchased, glistening in its Lime Gold Metallic paintwork.
It is a real shame that every car in America became either white, silver, gray, or black. But hey, if you get really really lucky, you may find one in non-metallic red!
@@fenn_fren It's the same story in Europe.
Car manufacturers are saving money on everything.
That lime green Bentley and similar cars are so expensive, it doesn't matter anymore, just import them from Europe to the US. Even paying for the freight and all the paperwork, I doubt it would become more expensive than it costs in the Europe with all the taxing.
@@Kierdziol Don't blame the manufacturers for this, they can make a profit from every paintwork. So even in Europe, car manufacturers actually offer quite radical colours, people just don't usually want them. Reason number one: white, silver and gray cars are easiest to sell forward. Most buyers are at least okay with these colours, whereas "lime green" is too specific to many people's liking. Reason number two: not all want to draw attention to themselves, like having a lime green car or some other vivid colour would imply.
I rode in a golden Rolls-Royce once. That's because my wife insisted that we rented that for our wedding.
The rental company still have that car, as far as I know, over 20 years later.
The car Industrie actually uses a different system. The Polo is A0, Golf is A, B is A4/3/C class, C is A6/5/E Class, D is A8/7/S Class. And SUV and sportscars are rated by the Plattform they are based on.
Audis Internal Codes for their cars are based on this:
The current A5 is the B10, the current A6/7 is the C8 and the current A8 is the D5.
In the US, C-segment seems to be the base for most vehicles. If it's sold as a midsized car in Europe, it'll be marketed as small and economical in the us.
The E and F segments are virtually identical, though, as there are very few large inexpensive cars left. Most have been replaced with SUVs or luxurious versions of pickups. The sales points of the Lincoln Town Car are the same sales points of the Lincoln Navigator.
For all practical purposes, with MPV's and SUV's it is much more common to just use the A to F segments again. Something like a Renault Captur would be considered a B-segment SUV, while the Megane Scenic ould be C-segment MPV. Which not always works that well with models ending up kinda inbetween segments.
10:55 I am really happy that u mentioned the French also made executive cars, Renault's last executive car was the 2015 Latitude before they switched to smaller Talismane which sadly also got discontinued, Peugeot also had the 2010 607 shown in the video before they switched to smaller 508, Citroen had the amazing 2012 C6 with the hydropneumatic suspension which sadly failed miserably even tho it was as comfortable as an S class, AFAIK, the only french executive car currently still being made is the Citroen sub-brand, DS9
SSR -> Commerciale Van/Pickup (a pickup is a pickup)
T-Roc -> J (though in my opinion B would fit better)
1007 -> A (it’s not a people carrier, the doors are for convenience)
Avante -> M (it was a two door minivan, and I loved it so much)
The system also helps rental cars companies.
12:05 The W221 S-Class had a 4-cylinder option in the S250CDI model. Not many people bought it but I think they're really cool; lower running costs of an E-segment car with the luxury of an F-segment car.
Luxury comes with 6 cylinder upwards. It's part of the game.
@@andreamassara590 Audi A8 hybrid models and the aforementioned S250CDI came with 4-cylinders does that not make them luxury cars?
@@Swiss4.2 That doesn't, IMHO..
They are just costly cars doing their best to gain some economy.
You are so entertaining and the same goes for the content you choose
J-Segment, for Jeep, the first SUV
Came to say the same thing
The Willys Jeep was the first mass produced UTILITARIAN 4x4.
The later build by Jeep Wagoneer is seen as the source of the outbreak of the SUV pandemic today.
Jeep was not the first, the first 4x4 car ever was build by Spijker in 1903 for race.
@@obelic71 yes but in places where we didn't have a lot of variety (ex. in Ex-Yugoslav countries), most people refer to crossovers/SUVs as "Jeeps" or "Jeep-like" cars, as they have seen Jeeps in a lot of American movies.
@@obelic71Ironically in the US the ford explorer was the first real SUV bought by the masses, as it rode like a car and wasn't that expensive. The wagoneer was a great vehicle, but they were really expensive.
@@rustbeltrobclassic2512 The European Equivalent to the wagoneer was the Range Rover who was also a luxury and expensive 4x4.
Ulitarian Diesel powered 4x4''s like the Land Rover ,Land cruiser/Hilux, Pajero, Patrol, G-wagen. were still the norm till the SUV hype came to Europe in the early 2000's
Those 4x4's were just heavy duty work/farm vehicels like the pickup (US) and Ute in Australia.
You did not enjoy doing this one, but you still did a fantastic job !
That is a real mark of your excellence. When you are excited it is far easier to be good at it.
This one, you had to struggle and that work paid off !
The problem I have with the A-F segment ranking is that large cars from mainstream brands can be considered a class higher than they actually are. I'm not being a brand snob or anything I'm just saying it can get confusing when comparing models. For example the Opel/Vauxhall insignia would be considered an E-segment car by length since its over 4.9m long; yet the Insignia competes more with D-Segment cars like the Ford Mondeo. I think price and market position should definitely be considered when comparing different segments of cars.
car man uploaded finally
J- segment is for Jeep. Many people call any suv a "Jeep" and consider it synonymous. More so in the past
This was an excellent overview of the various market segments, Art. Well done, sir!
While this has absolutely nothing to do with this video, I think it deserves saying... Anytime life gets heavy, stressful or depressing & I'm looking for a diversion, I go to my "Subscriptions" and increasingly, I will land on EAR. Ed, you are incredibly likable. Your narration is likewise incredibly likable. And your videos are just a delight. Always light hearted, well documented & informative. Ed... kudos & thanks for all your efforts! And please... keep 'em coming.
The ranaul Avantime and the Peugeot 1007 should be on segment M since they are (monovolume) single space plataform the t-roc cabrio is a segman J since is a T-roc; the chevy is a commercial vehicle there for is not part of this list
Manuelle ✅️ modussy ✅️ 1.2 tfsi ✅️ fake rs sticker one the window ✅️ prime Euro shitbox ✅️✅️✅️ love the EU car market
Also very stylish - shows mini, bruh
r/carcirclejerk is leaking as always lmao
@@ClockDev it had to be done ;)
this isn’t r/carscirclejerk but yes, le manuelle modus 999999999999hp
So every car is a shitbox when they age?
Perhaps with the CUV/SUV passenger vehicles, it could be JA, JB and so on.
In the USA, the unofficial segments by the media and reviewers (mini, subcompact, compact, midsize, full size) are mostly based on passenger area interior volume. A vehicle like my Mazda CX-30 is considered a crossover, a 'subcompact' a station wagon for registration category by my state, for government stats a 'Truck' (for pollution standards) by Mazda in the USA. If a the EU had a 2 letter designation, by length, it would likely fall into the 'compact' or JC.
@@leonb2637 thats actually a brilliant Idea
@@leonb2637 Jesus Christ!
I've always wondered about this, thanks edman
7:34 in Australia you need a Toyota landcruiser Prado or kleuger to carry one kid apparently! My wife does fine with a Mazda3 sedan with three kids and I have a Commodore wagon, which is a E size car, and the same as the Passat, though the Passat is bigger than 4.8m. and of course a 6l v8.
I was recently helping my mum find a new car and spent a bit too much time looking into this myself, so I've noticed a few interesting things.
J stands for jeep, as in the generic, slightly old-fashioned term for an off-road vehicle rather than the US car brand that popularised it. I'd guess most pickups probably fall under this category too, but...
I've noticed that recently SUVs are being sorted into subcategories of other segments rather than the J-segment. So things like that VW T-Roc Convertible would probably fall under the B-SUV Segment along with things like the Suzuki Jimny and Nissan Juke. These feel a bit unofficial though, as entry-level luxury SUVs like the BMW X1 & Range Rover Evoque are sometimes lumped in with these instead of C-SUV where you might expect them, and the bigger SUV segments feel very undefined.
I believe the U.S. the EPA uses interior volume for the size class.
I thought that I understood this, until you explained it. Now, I am totally confused! 😮😂
Good episode, thanks Ed. 😊
Geweldig filmoje Ed. Duidelijk uitgelegd. Voel mij blij! Nu ik weet dat mijn Toyota MR2 AW11 T-top een S sigment is 😅🤣
16:54 yes they are!
My favorite is the E class.
I must say there's something between the A-segment and the 45km/h grannies "scoot mobiel" or L6e.
The L7e! You can drive one with a B-license, it goes up to 90km/h and are lovely for singles/childless couples.
That might be interesting to take a look at.
Some examples: Microlino, Renault Twizy, Xev yoyo, Ligier.
Greetings, previous proud owner of a Twizy and now a Microlino
I love the competitions happening within the classes, lime i10 vs Up! vs Ka,, Polo vs Punto vs Fiesta,, Golf vs i30 vs 1 series
My first car was an Audi A6 4b C5 2.8 V6 Quattro, and my second was an Audi 100 C4 4A 2.3 Line 5. I dont know in which Section they are but in Germany we say that they are in the "obere Mittelklasse". So i never had a real small car like the A or B section, and i have to say that i wouldn't want any of these. Not that i hate them, but i just like bigger cars more.
3:20 Fiat actually doesn’t sell the TwinAir anymore, just a 3 cylinder in the Panda
I see Dutch people use this classification constantly.
Over here in Belgium, it’s not that common.
Hahaha brilliant explainer vid, Ed.
To me, those strange crossovers in styling and design like the Chevy SSR, VW T-Roc Convertible and Peugeot 1007 and so on won't fit in any box, because they were meant to be out-of-the-box vehicles in the first place.
But, if it were that such cars HAVE to be placed in a box, I would suggest the letter ' i ' for simply being interesting. 👍
Interesting. Never heard of these sections here in Germany. And I worked in the car industry.
I always thought that cars with number and letter designations are the least memorable.
BMW in the future making a 535630953850435135140650i xxxxxxDrive:
My eUP would like to point out there are electric A segment cars too. Though at 23k RRP it’s more of a tiny B segment car
Large sedans are almost all gone in the US. The Crown Victoria hasn’t been sold here for more than a decade, and the Taurus was also discontinued a number of years ago.
we call the tip of the spear F22 here in norway :P they mostly require a taxer to go over the car before insurance is cleared. know a dude whos job was to test drive amazing cars in the 2000´s
J segment is from "Jeep"
J - probably stand for "Jeep-like". We sometimes call SUV - jeep. That's because early Jeep was the first car of that's type in ours (Europeans) life.
J, M and S seem like prefixes or suffixes that would be added to the A to F segments. Like how a FIAT 500 would be a A segment car, the 500L a CM segment car, and the 500X a CJ segment car.
in serbia we use term "golf klasa" or golf class, for the C segment, because how popular the golf is
I've noticed that most of the time a lot of car reviews base the segment off of the price of the car more than anything else, they classifie some car as B-SUV altough they have C-segment dimension mainly because they have B-segment prices (so usually they start below 30.000€)
The J-segment is the only segment that makes the line go up. I really just want a D-segment liftback for convention tripping.
One thing some brands did was associating their SUV with the class their similar vehicle is... I drive a Hyundai Kona, a B-SUV...
The new renault megane e-tech: A C-segment car which is smaller than a new VW Polo, a B-Segment car.
The new honda city: bigger than a M segment mpv but it still counts as a B segment car.
funny because the auto review market never uses the J-segment to designate all the other cars. They describe a crossover just as a "b-segment car but higher" or something along those lines. "this Tiguan is just like the Golf on the inside, but it's a little higher" always in those terms instead of 'J-segment'
In my street, someone had a cabover pickup truck since I was little and I pretty much prefer such pickups over Rams and Fords.
in Malaysia our pink slip basically names any suv looking car as a "Jip", so every SUV is a J-Jeep
3:59 and seemingly have to comply to ever more demanding profit margins and dividends for executives and shareholders, despite the excessive inflation that +15 years of crossover-SUVs have created.
The full size (F-Segment) non luxury vehicle market has slowly disappeared in the USA
The Renault Avantime is in a category all of it's own. I am going to call it W segment - Wow, Wild and Wacky...
3:00 actually in the past we’ve had up to 1.4l turbo diesel engines in A segment cars. Oh and also a 1.6 16v
You'd think that they would come up with a new segment for SUV's and crossovers in America, too. But they haven't. I own 2 SUVs/crossovers, 1 station wagon, and 1 hatchback. But if you look at the registration for them, I own 3 station wagons and a hatchback. SUV's and crossovers are considered station wagons. The vehicles are a 2007 Saab 9-3 Aero wagon 6spd, a 2019 Audi S5 sportback, a 2023 Ford Bronco Sport, and a 2024 VW Tiguan.
Nice one mate. 👊🤙
Fullsize Pickup Trucks can be classified as FU in the US
To make extra sense, i have a 1997 Ford Explorer, wich is very obvious a suv. But the dutch goverment registers it as a stationwagon wich would make it fall in the same categorie as my daily driver a focus stationwagon.
Ed posted rage-bait. I like it. 👍🏻
I'm european, Ed is basically my neighbour, I consider my self a car guy, I've never heard of this
Nobody use J-segment for crossovers and S-segment for convertibles in general. The A,B, C and D still cover them. E.g. the Peugeot 3008 is a C-segment crossover/SUV. And the Fiat 500 convertible is a A-segment convertible.
The same goes for the average brands "luxury" cars. The taxi from Mercedes is a D-segment in the media, together with the Ford Mondeo ...
Also: all of the mentioned segments have EV alternatives. Something you would imagine someone from the Netherlands to understand.
You want another test
The is a Car that is a C-segment and has a not 1.0,not 2.0 but a 6.0L W12 in it and its a Hatchback.
It exists,kind of Rare.
And if some people know what car I mean,you are a true car guy.
Wow, I feel like I just went to a seminar and fixing to have to take a test on it.
Lol
MPVs aren't dying as they are mostly being replaced by more van based mpvs like the Ford Tourneo Courier/Connect/Custom, Benz V Class, VW Caddy, Multivan, & ID Buzz, all of the Stellantis MPVs etc.
I am offended by your comments on my aunt Jenny: The charges were dropped and she no longer yells at passing chijdre to " get off her lawn" LOL
Hey, my first gen Smart Fortwo is just 100inches long but it's a full A-segment car and I'm not walking impaired
You take that back, Sir😂
I see constantly articles locating subs and crossover on b, c, and d segment. depending on the length mostly, more than the style
So for the test, I would say the first car falls into the S-segment because, in my opinion, it’s more convertible than pickup, the second falls into the J-segment because despite its roof being removable, it is more SUV than convertible, the third is in the A-segment because, let’s face it, two’s a crowd when the doors slide shut, and the last is in the unlisted W-segment: whatever the f*** you like! 😆😁
Also, my first car was a S-segment car (Toyota Camry Solara convertible) and my current vehicle is in the J-segment (Honda Hr-V). Sending you good vibes from Florida!
Finally i've Always wondered what they meant
So as an American, it looks like I can officially say that my Ford Focus is a C segment car 😁
It very much is in Europe, not even a question about it.
It just is, nothing complicated about it
Always great content! Could you do a What If Desoto or Plymouth or Hudson?
No one can put the Renault Avantime in a box, it will not let it's unique spirit be confined.
Cars smaller than the A segment like the Toyota iQ or the Samrt Fortwo are called the sub-A segment. Just FYI.
Starts the video with a picture of a Mitsubishi Mirage/SpaceStar.
Enjoy your like, my good sir.
In the countries where tax is according to the engine displacement, D and E segment cars sold with small 1.6 liters turbo (or lower) with top trim line. You can easily find an Opel Insignia OPC Line with 1.6 diesel or MB E class with 1.5 turbo (sold as E180). So it is not just base models. If you want a bigger 2.0 liter "so-called base" engine the purchasing price easily doubles :(
I assume j segment stands for jeep which used to be a general term for a suv