Marathon Coupe (1972–1975) After the Second World War, European manufacturers usually featured two vehicle types: small
economy cars that were usually saloons and large
saloons. By the 1960s, the post war economic boom had produced customers who wanted something of intermediate size. These were usually saloons during the 1950s and 1960s. The world's first
hatchback, Even the later similar-sized cars like the
Ford Escort,
Vauxhall Viva,
Austin Allegro and
Hillman Avenger were still only available as saloons or estates, although some cars of this size, like the
BMC/BL 1100 and 1300 saloons and
Italy's Fiat 128 featured front-wheel drive from their launch during the 1960s. The C-segment was revolutionized in 1974 with the launch of the
Volkswagen Golf, a front-wheel drive hatchback, which was hugely successful all over Europe. Within a decade, most cars of this size in Europe were front-wheel drive hatchbacks. These included the
Fiat Ritmo (Strada in the UK),
Ford Escort (from the MK3 model launched in 1980),
Opel Kadett (
Vauxhall Astra in the UK),
Renault 11, and the
Talbot Horizon (originally a
Chrysler/
Simca until
Peugeot took over
Chrysler's European division in 1979). Most manufacturers still offered a traditional saloon of this size though, with Volkswagen using the Golf as the base for its
Jetta saloon, and Ford launching the Escort-based
Orion in 1983. Also in the 1980s saloons became popular again in certain Western European markets, often with a different model name than the hatchback, for example the
Renault 9 (Renault 11-based),
Fiat Regata (Ritmo-based) and
SEAT Málaga. Some carmakers later created the
liftback bodystyle like the
Peugeot 309, which replaced the Talbot Horizon in this sector at the end of 1985. Since the mid-1990s, premium brands usually associated with larger and more expensive cars have entered the C-segment with more affordable hatchbacks and saloons. The first such example was the
Audi A3 in 1996. Subsequent cars of this type include the
BMW 1 Series and
Mercedes-Benz A-Class. In the 1st decade of 21st century,
coupé convertibles (cabriolets) with components from these vehicles were being also built. Examples of this are the
Peugeot 307 CC and later
308 CC in the first generation, third-generation
Opel Astra TwinTop, second generation
Ford Focus Coupe-Convertible, and
Volkswagen Eos.
France Early successful compact family cars by French manufacturers are
Citroën GSA hatch version of the 1970 GS,
Peugeot 304 and
Renault 14. During 1980s,
Citroën replaced the GSA with the 1983
BX that was between the sizes of the small family car and large family car, in an attempt to cover both markets with single model. The
Citroën ZX was the model which celebrated the entry of
PSA Group (now Stellantis) in China during early 1990s.
Former USSR/Russia Cars of the Soviet/Russian brand
Lada:
VAZ-2101,
VAZ-2103,
VAZ-2106,
Lada Riva (based on the
Fiat 124 and
Fiat 125) and
Lada Samara (since 1984) were very popular in
Central and
Eastern Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. The modern-day
Lada's compact cars are
Lada Priora and
Lada Vesta. There was also the lineup of the
AZLK-factory,
Moskvitch (from 1947 to 2003):
400,
402,
408,
412,
Izh 2125 (the first Soviet
hatchback),
2140 and
Aleko. == History in the United Kingdom ==