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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 (approximately between $29,000 and $36,000).

Dimensionally, these vehicles are often shorter than large family cars, and the rear leg room and boot/trunk size is smaller to accommodate larger engines. While they offer the buyer less equipment, inner room or engine for the money, the material and building quality is higher and the nameplate itself is part of the value proposition. Compact executive cars are usually available 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, as well as Volvo. The luxury car nameplate Mercedes-Benz then branched down to create the 1982 competitor Mercedes-Benz 190. The class then grew with the arrivals of the Rover 600 and Audi A4.

List of compact executive cars

• Acura CSX, TSX, TL
• Alfa Romeo 155, 156, 159
• Audi A4, A3
• BMW 3 Series saloon and compact.
• Cadillac BLS, CTS
• Honda Accord
• Infiniti G35
• Jaguar X-Type
• Lancia Lybra
• Lexus ES, IS
• Lincoln Zephyr, MKZ
• Mazda Xedos 6
• Mercedes-Benz C-Class
• Mercury Milan
• Rover 600
• Saab 900 (NG), 9-3
• Volvo 850, S60, S40, V50
• VW Passat, VW Jetta.

See also

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

• Car classifications
• Mid-size cars