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Niceguyedc (talk | contribs) m WPCleaner v1.33 - Repaired 2 links to disambiguation pages - (You can help) - Ford Escort, Vauxhall Viva |
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The modern C-segment market in Europe can be traced back to the launch of the [[Volkswagen Golf]], the first successful hatchback of this size, in 1974. At the time, similar-sized cars like the [[Ford Escort (Europe)|Ford Escort]], [[Vauxhall Viva (1963–1979)|Vauxhall Viva]], [[Austin Allegro]] and [[Hillman Avenger]] were still only available as saloons or estates, as were most continental competitors. However, the hatchback bodystyle became the most popular format in this sector of the European market by the early 1980s. Some carmakers even sold the saloon versions of their popular hatchbacks under a different name during the 1980s, namely the Escort-based [[Ford Orion]] and Golf-based [[Volkswagen Jetta]]. This change in the favoured bodystyle also saw front-wheel drive replace rear-wheel drive as the norm in the C-segment.
The C-segment features many "hot hatchbacks", which feature more powerful engines and often a performance more akin to that of a sports car than a family car. The first successful such car in Europe was the 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTI. Popularity of this type of car multiplied across Europe during the 1980s, with offerings including the Ford Escort XR3i, Vauxhall Astra/[[Opel Kadett]] GTE and [[Austin Maestro|MG Maestro]].
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