In the economy vs compact car question, economy is the lower category and compact the next one up in the ACRISS matrix. That is the short answer, and the longer one sits in a four-letter code that most offers carry, even when the site shows only a name such as “Compact” or “Intermediate SUV”. Once you can read the code, the classes stop being marketing words and become four separate facts about the car.
What are rental car classes?
A rental car class is a group of cars offered under one name, and the industry describes it with a four-character ACRISS code. ACRISS publishes this Car Classification System, an industry-standard matrix designed to give like-for-like vehicle comparisons across car rental and mobility booking platforms.[1]
Each of the four characters answers one question. The first one is the vehicle category, which ACRISS bases on size, cost, power and luxury factor. The second is the vehicle type, such as the number of doors, wagon, van, SUV or convertible. The third is the transmission and drive, and the fourth is the fuel type and whether the car has air conditioning.
The first letter is the one you meet most often, because it gives the class its name.
| Letter | Category | Elite variant |
|---|---|---|
| M | Mini | N, Mini Elite |
| E | Economy | H, Economy Elite |
| C | Compact | D, Compact Elite |
| I | Intermediate | J, Intermediate Elite |
| S | Standard | R, Standard Elite |
| F | Fullsize | G, Fullsize Elite |
| P | Premium | U, Premium Elite |
| L | Luxury | W, Luxury Elite |
| O | Oversize | none listed |
| X | Special | none listed |
One exception: for passenger vans (V as the second letter), ACRISS uses the first letter to show the number of seats instead of the category.
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Economy vs compact car: which is bigger?
Compact is the next category up. In the ACRISS matrix, economy (E) is listed before compact (C), and the categories run in the table order from Mini through Economy, Compact, Intermediate, Standard, Fullsize, Premium and Luxury.
What the code does not say is by how much. ACRISS rates each new model, including its engine variant and trim level, on a points scale built from list price, engine performance, CO2 emissions, size, luggage capacity, number of seats and equipment, and the rating sets the category.[2] So one step up can mean a longer body, a stronger engine or a better finish, or a mix of these. No character of the code states trunk space or the number of bags, so a figure like that has to come from the offer you book, not from the letter.
The same holds for the economy car vs compact car question in a booking list. If two offers show “Economy” and “Compact” for the same dates, the compact offer is the higher category, and one class covers several models, each rated by ACRISS into its category.
What is an intermediate rental car?
An intermediate rental car is the category with the letter I, the step after compact (C) and before standard (S) in the ACRISS matrix. The ACRISS table uses the word intermediate, so in the code look for the letter I; how a booking site labels the class is the site’s choice.
The difference between intermediate and standard is the same kind of step as between economy and compact: one category up, with size, cost, power and luxury factor all counting. If the offer lists only a class name, the first letter of the code tells you which of the two you are looking at.
Intermediate SUV vs standard SUV
An SUV has the letter F in the second position of the code, so an intermediate SUV and a standard SUV are the same body type in two different categories. Take the codes IFAR and SFAR as an example and read them with the table.
- First letter: I is Intermediate in the first code, S is Standard in the second. This is the only difference between the two.
- Second letter: F is SUV in both.
- Third letter: A is automatic with unspecified drive.
- Fourth letter: R is unspecified fuel, a combustion engine, with air conditioning.
So intermediate SUV vs standard SUV is a question about the category letter, with the same ordering as for cars: standard is the step after intermediate. The table also has a separate letter for crossovers, G, which is not the same as F for SUV.
How to read the transmission and fuel letters
The third letter covers the gearbox and drive. M is manual with unspecified drive, N manual 4WD, C manual AWD, A automatic with unspecified drive, B automatic 4WD and D automatic AWD. The same position also holds levels of autonomous driving: Q for level 3, H for level 4 and F for level 5.
The fourth letter is the fuel and air conditioning. R is a combustion engine of unspecified fuel with air conditioning, and N is the same without it. D is diesel with air conditioning and Q is diesel without. H marks a hybrid, I a plug-in hybrid, and E and C are electric.
ACRISS gives a worked example: CCMR is a compact car, a 2- or 4-door body, a manual transmission, and unspecified fuel with air conditioning. Read a code such as CDMR the same way: C is compact, D is a 4-5 door body, M is manual and R is unspecified fuel with air conditioning. If you need an automatic, look for A, B or D in third place, not only for a class name.
Which rental car class fits your trip?
The code cannot choose for you, but it turns the choice into questions you can answer before you pay.
- How many people and how much luggage? No character of the code states either, so check the description in the offer.
- Manual or automatic? Look at the third letter, and do not assume it from the class name.
- Which fuel or drive? Look at the third and fourth letters.
- Where will you drive? Each country has its own driving rules, so read the country page for Germany, Poland or Turkey before you pick a size.
A class is usually not a model either. ACRISS says an independent motor vehicle professional is commissioned to assign the codes for European, Middle East, Africa and Australia/New Zealand manufacturers’ models, so that its members show the same code for the same vehicles. The exception is the special-offer type Z in the second position, which rental companies use for promotions and guaranteed models.[3] Whether an offer promises a particular model is stated in the offer itself. For the steps from booking to pickup, see how to rent a car.
