Nothing, it seems, with the exception of basic parts like wheels, doors and seats. Right? Not quite. In America, both models fall into the ‘large car’ category.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculates total interior space, not exterior dimensions, to classify passenger cars into different segments. Following this methodology places the Civic and the Phantom on the same unlikely turf, where they’re in the company of other equally unexpected models. Meanwhile, the Ford Fiesta and the Nissan GT-R keep each other company in the subcompact corner.

Join us as we explore the big compacts and the scaled-up small cars sold in the United States, and highlight some truly strange truths: