standard-size car; ordinary passenger car
Refers to a regular passenger car, as opposed to a light car (軽自動車) or a larger vehicle. Common in contexts like rental cars, tolls, and vehicle classification.
I rented a standard-size car.
ordinary carriage; standard-class car
On trains, refers to the standard (non-reserved, non-green) car. Often contrasted with グリーン車 (first-class car) or 指定席 (reserved seat).
高速道路の料金は普通車と軽自動車で違う。
Expressway tolls differ for standard cars and light cars.
The ordinary cars on the Shinkansen have unreserved and reserved seats.
Even the standard-class car is comfortable enough.
グリーン車 is a first-class train car with more spacious seating, while 普通車 is the ordinary car.
Compound of 普通 (ordinary, standard) and 車 (car, vehicle).