The automobile world is full of names, terms, and abbreviations. One of the simplest terms - compact car - is one that is also open to interpretation, and some vehicles can straddle different classes.

Tesla's Elon Musk has revealed his company's plans to take on compact executive cars, such as the BMW 3-series and i3, with the Tesla Model 3. The all-electric Model 3 (which was originally going to ...