You may have found more and more parking dings appearing on your car after grocery trips in recent years, and there is a good reason for it. Cars are getting larger and larger by the year. It isn’t helped by the fact that everyone wants to be seen driving around in oversize SUVs at the moment, but even the more humble sedans and hatchbacks of our streets are growing with each generation, with the average car width and every other metric continuing to rise.
Part of the reason for the average car width growing is due to modern safety regulations. Crumple zones and airbags have to go somewhere, and with that, thicker doors and seats are part of the deal. If you’re wondering how wide and how long the average car is, according to Way, the auto expenses app, the average width of a car is 69.6 inches. And how long is the average car? That figure is currently at 176.4 inches. That’s a combination of the averages from a variety of segments, ranging from subcompact cars through to full-size pickup trucks.
With that in mind, we have decided to find out just how much our favorite models in America have grown in recent decades. Each of the ten comparisons here and of the same make and model, but with a minimum of 20 years between them.
CarBuzz has gathered specifications and statistics from a variety of manufacturer’s websites for this article. All comparisons will have a minimum of 20 years between them, and are based on some of the best-selling models in America. The width for each model does not include wing mirrors.
Discussion What is the average length of a car?
Cars are getting bigger every year, as consumers prioritize practicality and space and SUVs become an increasingly popular choice of daily driver; the average length of a car in 2024 is 14.7 feet. Do you prefer driving cars that are on the small side, or not?
9 Ford F-150
Having outsold all other pickup trucks in America for 47 years now, the F-150 is definitely deserving of a mention when discussing the average American car. The F-150 model originally arrived for 1975, but this comparison looks at the later 10th-generation F-150, which was last on sale for the 2003 model year.
In comparison to the current F-150, the 2003 model is noticeably smaller in maximum length – today’s largest F-150 Crew Cab is 17.7 inches longer than the 2003 version. Maximum width is the same, while today’s F-150 is nearly three inches taller, when comparing the tallest models from each generation.
10th And Latest-Gen Size Comparison (Crew Cabs)
Dimension
2003 Ford F-150
2024 Ford F-150
Max Width
79.9 inches
79.9 inches
Max Length
226.2 inches
243.9 inches
Max Height
76.9 inches
79.8 inches
Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.
8 Toyota Camry
Toyota
While other models have been altered significantly across generations, the Toyota Camry has always stayed true to its original brief. The Camry is, and always has been, an affordable, mid-size, four-door sedan.
Despite the Camry’s purpose not altering, the dimensions certainly have. The 2025 Toyota Camry is considerably larger in all respects when compared to the original 1983 model, and yet it’s no more capable in terms of how many passengers it can squeeze inside. Much like the F-150, the biggest difference is in length, where the latest Camry stretches 18.9 inches beyond the original.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1983 Toyota Camry
2025 Toyota Camry
Width
66.5 inches
72.4 inches
Length
174.6 inches
193.5 inches
Height
53.9 inches
56.9 inches
7 Honda Civic Hatchback
Honda
Arriving in 1973, the Honda Civic is a prime example of the cheap Japanese commuter-focused cars that were cashing in on America’s soaring gas and insurance prices. When compared to the huge, V8-powered cars the American automakers were churning out, the diminutive Civic made perfect sense for the economically minded public.
The Civic’s diminutive nature has since been lost over the last 50 years, as the 2025 model looks huge in comparison. How wide a car is will depend on what it’s designed to do, and at over 10 inches wider and nearly 40 inches longer, it’s clear to see that the Civic has evolved with the changing needs and wants of the American public. Would a return to the smaller footprint work for Honda’s Civic? Debatable, but the Civic’s swelling is a perfect example of how the average commuter car has grown over the last 50 years.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1973 Honda Civic Hatchback
2025 Honda Civic Hatchback
Width
59.3 inches
70.9 inches
Length
139.8 inches
179 inches
Height
52.2 inches
55.7 inches
6 Honda CR-V
Honda
Spoiler alert – out of all the models in this list, the CR-V is one of only two examples of a model actually shrinking in size in a single metric. Like so many, it has increased in terms of width and length, by quite some margin, but the height has actually dropped, by 0.6 of an inch.
This is likely due to automakers feeling the need to make everything look sporty and aggressive at the moment, even if nothing about the Honda CR-V screams performance. In fact, performance attributes like big wheels and a lowered roof-line actually detract from the capability of such a car. However, looking great is so high up on the ‘want list’ of car buyers in 2024, that even the super-practical Honda CR-V needs to pay attention.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1997 Honda CR-V
2025 Honda CR-V
Width
68.9 inches
73.5 inches
Length
178 inches
184.8 inches
Height
67.1 inches
66.5 inches (AWD)
5 Cadillac Escalade
Cadillac
In any guise, the Cadillac Escalade has always been a big car – even for a full-size SUV. It’s forever been part of the Escalade’s appeal, towering over almost everything else. Each Escalade comes as standard with excessive road presence, and enough space inside for every luxury amenity imaginable. You might think, then, that there is little reason for it to have grown much in the last 25 years.
You would be wrong, as even Cadillac has felt the need to enlarge the gargantuan Escalade over the years. The 2025 model sits with a powerful stance, at 81.1 inches wide (over ten inches wider than the average car width) and 76.3 inches tall – both dimensions a good few inches larger than the first-gen models. It’s also over ten inches longer than the ’99 model, too, and this is just for the regular model. For those that really want to make a lasting impression, the Escalade ESV is a monstrous 227 inches long.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1999 Cadillac Escalade
2025 Cadillac Escalade
Width
77 inches
81.1 inches
Length
201.2 inches
211.9 inches
Height
74.3 inches
76.3 inches
4 BMW X3
BMW
Quite the polar opposite to the huge, full-size SUVs from American automakers, the BMW X3 instead looks to offer all the premium materials and goodies one would expect from a huge SUV, but in a much more compact footprint. Over the last two decades, BMW’s X3 has stayed true to those morals, too, growing very marginally.
The all-new BMW X3 is 2.6 inches wider and 7.5 inches longer than the original. Like the CR-V, the new one sits lower to the ground than before, with height decreasing by just over half an inch. With all seats in place, the original 2004 model provides a respectable 30 cubic feet of storage space. In contrast, the 2025 model has 31.5 cubic feet, so the extra body length hasn’t dramatically increased cargo capacity.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
2004 BMW X3
2025 BMW X3
Width
73 inches
75.6 inches
Length
179.7 inches
187.2 inches
Height
66 inches
65.4 inches
3 Toyota RAV4 5-Door
Toyota
While the Toyota Corolla more often than not takes the crown of being the world’s best-selling car, the RAV4 can usually be seen not far behind, providing it with the title of world’s best-selling SUV in recent years. Having first launched back in the mid 1990s, it’s interesting to see how the model has evolved throughout the years. Firstly, the three-door variant was dropped after the second generation, and so this comparison is based upon the five-door models.
Sporting an extra 18.1 inches in length, the 2024 RAV4 almost has space for yet another set of doors, when compared to the first-gen model. The latest RAV4 is also 6.3 inches wider, and marginally (3.3 inches) taller also, meaning it has a much larger footprint on the road. The newest model seats the same number of people, and isn’t necessarily any more capable on or off of the road – so why the huge increase in size? In fairness, the trunk space has swelled from 26.8 to 37.6 cubic feet of space, with all seats in place, so it would appear Toyota is putting the extra length to great use in this instance.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1996 Toyota RAV4
2024 Toyota RAV4
Width
66.7 inches
73 inches
Length
163.4 inches
181.5 inches
Height
65.3 inches
68.6 inches
2 BMW 3 Series
The quintessential sports sedan, it was the second-generation E30 BMW 3 Series that truly established the nameplate as a favorite for enthusiasts. Its available six-cylinder engines, balanced rear-wheel-drive chassis, and sporty styling made it an instant hit. Today’s G20 3 Series has matured into an altogether more luxury-oriented package, and with that has come a substantial increase in size:
G20 is 9.1 inches longer than E30 G20 is 7.1 inches wider than E30
This has translated into a much more comfortable and spacious interior, although it was precisely the petite size of the E30 that made it such a joy to drive.
Second And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1985 BMW 3 Series
2025 BMW 3 Series
Width
64.8 inches
71.9 inches
Length
176.8 inches
185.9 inches
Height
54.3 inches
56.8 to 57 inches
1 Ford Mustang GT
Ford
America’s favorite muscle car is the last example of how average cars have increased in size over the years. Using the GT fastback as an example, it’s easy to see how the Mustang has swollen since the first cars debuted in ’64.
Encompassing that sleek Fastback design will mean the GT has always been a long car, and growing from 181.6 to 189.4 inches across 60 years doesn’t seem too dramatic at all. The increases in height seem reasonable too – a total of 3.8 inches higher provides space for larger alloys and thicker seat bases. However, the increase in width is an eye-opener, moving from a narrow 68.2 inches, up to a sizable 75.2 inches, the modern Mustang has a noticeably wider footprint on the road.
First And Latest-Gen Size Comparison
Dimension
1964 Ford Mustang GT
2024 Ford Mustang GT
Width
68.2 inches
75.4 inches
Length
181.6 inches
189.4 inches
Height
51.2 inches
55 inches
Sources: Manufacturers’ websites, Way