Compact executive car

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Alfa Romeo 159, a compact executive car mainly sold in Europe

Infiniti G35, an entry-level luxury car for sale in North America and Japan

Compact executive car (British English, Mittelklasse in German) or entry-level luxury car (American English) is a car classification which respectively describes large family cars produced by premium brands, or compact cars built by luxury brands. These vehicles offer a certain degree of comfort, prestige and perceived quality at a modest price, currently € 25000 up to € 40000 and a similar price range in US dollars.

Dimensionally, these vehicles are often smaller than large family cars. While they offer the buyer less car for the money, the nameplate itself is part of the value proposition. Compact executive cars are usually avaliable in sedan / saloon, station wagon / estate, coupé and convertible / cabriolet body styles.

This market segment is fairly new, pioneered by the BMW 3 Series, which found consumer demand for a small but upscale sedan in the late 1970s. The luxury car nameplate Mercedes-Benz then branched down to create the 1982 competitor Mercedes-Benz 190.

[edit] List of compact executive cars

• Acura TL / TSX
• Alfa Romeo 155 / 156 / 159
• Audi A4
• BMW 3 Series
• Cadillac BLS
• Infiniti G35
• Lexus IS
• Mazda Xedos 6
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class
• Jaguar X-Type
• Saab 900 (NG) / 9-3
• Volvo 850 / S60

[edit] See also

• Luxury car
• Compact car
• Executive car
• Large family car
• Mid-size car