From hatchback to SUV: car body types. What is a real coupe: we disassemble the anatomy What is the difference between a sedan car and a coupe

The number of cars on our roads is constantly growing. Manufacturers, trying to please all customers, improve not only the "filling", interior, design of the car, but also the body. For our comfort, they try to combine several structures in one type of body at once, from which there are more varieties, and they are so similar to each other. But you can distinguish them, and we will help you figure it out in this.

The most common body types in our strip are sedan, hatchback, station wagon, crossover, SUV. Coupe, minivan, compact van, pickup are less common.

Sedan

Sedan is the most popular body type among passenger cars in our country. It is a three-volume body with four doors and a separate luggage compartment. Average ground clearance will allow you to travel both in the city and on the highway. The disadvantage is the small trunk, which is quite limited in height. The price of sedans varies greatly. From a huge selection, you can choose a sedan of both B class and E class, it all depends on your preferences and financial capabilities.

Examples of cars with sedan body type

The coupe is also a three-volume body, the main difference from the sedan is the number of doors: the coupe has two of them. The design is more understated, sporty, and therefore more powerful. Due to the fact that the two are only two, they are slightly larger than the sedan, which adds a comfortable seating position for the driver. Of the minuses, in addition to the lacking luggage compartment, one can note the inconvenient entry of second-row passengers. This type of body is suitable for trips of one passenger, and transportation of bulky items is not planned.

Examples of cars with a coupe body type

Hatchback 3 and 5 doors

The hatchback is a two-volume type of body that differs from the sedan in the volume of the boot: it is smaller, but the tailgate starts from the roof, which will allow you to carry tall items, and the folding second row of seats will increase the luggage space. Suitable for purchase by novice drivers, as the first car, because this type of body is small, very maneuverable, and ideal for the urban jungle. The main drawback is the low power, and in the three door variants - the uncomfortable landing of the passengers in the second row of seats.

Examples of passenger cars with a hatchback body type

A type of hatchback is a liftback. This body type has a distinctive feature in the form of a small step on the fifth door (liftback). The trunk is connected to the rear window and opens with it. But outwardly, the liftback resembles a sedan and is often confused with it due to the protrusion on the luggage compartment lid.

Station wagon

A station wagon is a two-volume type of a car body that has an increased luggage compartment compared to a sedan. The passenger compartment and luggage compartment are connected and the roof extends to the tailgate. This is an advantage for choosing a family car: all family members will comfortably fit in the cabin, and all the cargo will fit in the luggage compartment.

Example of a station wagon body type

You can clearly understand the differences between a hatchback, a sedan and a station wagon using the example of a car. The picture clearly shows the difference between body types from one to the other.

Crossover

Crossover is a two-volume body type. This is a cross between an SUV and a station wagon, or less often a hatchback, combining the advantages and disadvantages of these different classes. The crossover differs from the hatchback by a higher ground clearance and, accordingly, increased cross-country ability, and it does not reach the jeeps because of the lower power and sometimes the presence of mono-drive. The crossover is a fairly popular car on our roads. It feels the confidence of an SUV, the economy of a station wagon and the comfort of both driver and passengers, whether you are carrying luggage or not. To meet customer demand, manufacturers began to produce simplified four-wheel drive systems and produce single-drive crossover models. They are used only in urban conditions, and off-road cross-country ability is practically no better than that of station wagons, which is why the expression "parquet SUV" or, for short, "SUV" began to appear among the people. Now this term is often used for all models with a crossover body type, without taking into account the real parameters of cross-country ability.

Examples of cars with a crossover body type

SUV or Jeep

An SUV is also a two-volume body type, and as mentioned just above, this is a car with a high-rise degree of cross-country ability. How to distinguish an SUV externally from another type of car body? An SUV is an all-wheel drive vehicle with a frame body and high ground clearance (more than 200 mm), large wheels. Since this car was created for off-road travel, it is distinguished by high power, and, accordingly, high fuel consumption. Therefore, one of the disadvantages can be noted: high cost (both the purchase and the cost of spare parts, refueling). This type of body is perfect for fans of extreme types of recreation, solving the difficult tasks of the Russian off-road, or it can take a snowmobile, ATV, or jet ski, and for city dwellers, an SUV will be a prestigious and reliable car, but it will not be able to unleash its full potential.

Examples of SUVs

Pickup

There are also SUVs with a closed driver's cab and a large open luggage compartment. This body type is called a pickup truck. A pickup truck is a two- or four-door all-wheel drive (less often rear-wheel drive) SUV with 1 or 2 rows of seats arranged in a 2, 2 + 1, 2 + 2, 2 + 3 pattern, outwardly resembling a small truck. The main advantage of this car is the luggage compartment, which is unlimited in height. The cargo platform has a tailgate and a soft top can be installed (with a hard top, the pickup turns into a van). A pickup truck is purchased by people whose occupation is associated with not large-scale cargo transportation, as well as people living outside the city, because it is a pleasure to transfer a dozen bags of crops on a pickup truck.

Some models with a pickup body type

There are also one-volume body types. These include buses of various sizes: minivan (mandatory presence of the third row of seats, sliding side doors, length of at least 4.5 m), compact van (reduced version of the minivan - length 4.2-4.5 m) and microbeds (enlarged copy of the station wagon , length up to 4.2 m).

One of the most important criteria for choosing a car is the body type. The number of types of car bodies has almost doubled over the past 15-20 years. Manufacturers are increasingly trying to combine several body types in one car at once. It is becoming more and more difficult to distinguish one option from another, but we will do it anyway.

Let's understand the classification of car body types

To begin with, we will divide all body types into 3 groups: three-volume, two-volume and one-volume.

Three-volume

Three-volume body has a protruding hood and trunk. Three-volume systems are among the least versatile bodies due to the limited ability to transform the interior and trunk. This group includes sedans, coupes, convertibles and pickups.

Sedan, coupe.

The main difference between a coupe and a sedan is the two-door body. The coupe (from the French "couper" - cut off) is usually built on the basis of a sedan and has a sporty bias (lower body, powerful engines). The coupe does not always have a pronounced three-box body and in shape often resembles a three-door hatchback. But the hatchback always gives out a vertically located tailgate, which in the coupe they try to make it as horizontal as possible.

Convertible, coupe-convertible, roadster.

Convertible is a coupe with a "soft" tarpaulin roof that folds behind the rear seats and rises if necessary

But the soft top did not allow the car to be used all year round, so in the late 90s, a new version of the open body - the coupe-cabriolet - began to gain popularity. At first glance, this is an ordinary coupe, but when you press the right button, the hard metal roof rises and neatly folds into the trunk, turning the coupe into a convertible.

A two-seater convertible (no second row of seats) is called a roadster.

Roadster Porsche Boxster Roadster Audi TTS

Pickup.

Mitsubishi L200 Pickup

A pickup truck is a body with an open cargo area, separated from the passenger compartment by a rigid partition. Simply put, this is a miniature copy of a regular truck. Most often this body is confused with a van. In order not to be mistaken, it is enough to remember that Pick-up in English means, among other things, “picking up”, “picking up”, that is, throwing it into the body quickly ... Most pickups are built on the same platform with SUVs and have a good cross-country ability. Both in our country and throughout Europe, pickups are not very popular, but in the USA they are crazy about them.

Two-volume

On a two-volume body there is no protruding trunk, and its lid opens only with the glass and is considered another door.

Two-volume bodies include hatchbacks, station wagons, as well as crossovers and SUVs created on their basis. Two-volume bodies are distinguished by the most spacious luggage racks (station wagons) and compact sizes (hatchbacks - "hatchback", you can translate English as "rear door"). At the same time, both station wagons and hatchbacks have a folding rear seat, which allows you to significantly increase the volume of the trunk and in the characteristics they always indicate its minimum (i.e., with the seats folded out) and maximum (with the seats folded down) value.

Hatchback, station wagon.

Skoda Fabia New hatchback and Skoda Fabia New Combi station wagon

The main difference between a hatchback and a station wagon is the size (length) of the trunk.

Liftback Skoda Octavia New

In addition to the usual hatchback, there is also a liftback - a hatchback with an almost three-volume body. In the liftback, the trunk lid has a small protrusion and resembles a sedan, but it opens with the rear window.

Hatchbacks are very popular in Europe, but in our country they are only gaining popularity, and that is mainly due to liftbacks (because of the similarity to sedans).

The main advantage of the hatchback is its compactness and maneuverability, but the station wagon always wins in terms of trunk volume.

SUV.

The crossover, although it tries to look like an SUV, cannot boast and impressive and very often inferior to an SUV in height. Sometimes they are called "SUVs", probably with a hint that such an "SUV" is suitable for driving on parquet floors, and not really off-road ...

Crossover Nissan Qashqai

In addition, more and more crossovers are created on the basis of hatchbacks and differ from them only by increased ground clearance and large wheels.

Recently, the popularity of crossovers around the world has grown dramatically. Despite the fact that the first crossovers appeared relatively recently (mid-90s), almost every manufacturer already has such a body in its lineup or plans to add it in the near future.

Monocabs

One-volume the body does not have a far protruding hood and trunk - the engine and luggage compartment are practically in the cabin. Mono bodies pride themselves on the sheer number of transforming options for their spacious interiors.

The "one-volume" includes the "youngest" body types: minivans, compact vans, micro-vans - that is, almost all buses of any size. These body options can be distinguished by the size of the car and the number of rows of seats.

Minivan.

The compact van in size is located between the micro van and the minivan, the length is from 4.2 to 4.5 meters. However, some compact vans may have a third row of seats. The first "compacts" were released in the mid-90s. In fact, this is a slightly reduced (compact) version of the minivan.

Microvan

Microvan Nissan Note

A microvan is simply a larger (in height) hatchback with a more spacious interior. There is no third row of seats in the micro van. The length does not exceed 4.2 meters. The first microvans appeared only 5-7 years ago, but they are already rapidly gaining popularity in Europe and even on our roads they can be found more and more often.

The differences are less and less

Gradually, the difference between types becomes less and less noticeable. That there is only the Skoda Superb hatchback sedan (the trunk lid opens with and without glass) or the almost one-volume Honda Civic hatchback.

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The importance of the car body can hardly be overestimated - it carries a lot of both practical and aesthetic functions. The modern industry pleases us with a wide variety of bodies for every taste.

One of the most popular is the sedan, but the coupe is also popular with many drivers. At the same time, it is important to understand how a coupe differs from a sedan, because a car is an expensive purchase that will be with its owner for more than one year.

Definition

Coupe- a closed passenger body type with two doors and one row of seats (or there is a rear row of limited capacity).

Coupe Audi TT

Sedan- the most massive body type with two (three) rows of full-size seats, the back door is always absent.

Sedan Mercedes-Benz S600

Comparison

First of all, in character, so to speak about the type of body. The coupe most often has a sporty, sometimes even aggressive, predatory look. The second important difference is the number of doors. The coupe has only two, while the sedan has all four. Two-door sedans are rare. But the doors of the compartment are larger and more massive.

The sedan has two rows of full-size seats, while the coupe often has just one. Even if the coupe has a rear seat, it is small in size and only comfortable for children. But the trunk volume of a coupe is usually slightly larger than that of a sedan.

Landing on the rear seats in the compartment is difficult and inconvenient - the driver and the person to his right will have to get out in order to let the passengers into the cabin. With a sedan, such problems will not arise. Everything in the compartment is thought out for maximum convenience of two people - the driver and one passenger sitting next to him.

The design features of the coupe are such that this type of body is stronger and more rigid than the sedan.

Conclusions site

1. Coupe - a body type with two doors, most often of a sporty look; the rear row of seats is either missing or of insufficient capacity for an adult.
2. The sedan is the most popular body style with four doors and full-size seats.
3. Getting into the compartment for rear passengers is inconvenient and requires preliminary disembarkation of people from the front seats.
4. The coupe is as comfortable as possible for the driver and front passenger.
5. The trunk of a coupe is usually larger than the trunk of a sedan.
6. The body of the "coupe" type is stronger than the sedan due to the design features.

Now let's talk about body types, because this important parameter affects not only the cost and prestige of the car, but also comfort and even safety.

The most popular car body types:

• sedan
• hatchback
• SUV
• station wagon
• minivan.

There are also body types such as liftback, limousine, pickup, van, convertible, roadster.

Let's take a closer look at the types presented.

Sedan

Such a car has a protruding hood and trunk, separated from the passenger compartment and with a separate door.
The sedan can have an extended wheelbase - in this case, the sedan belongs to premium cars and has the letter L in its name, from long- long.

The sedan is the most widespread and popular body type around the world. This is a classic and prestigious body that does not lose its popularity in Belarus.

Hatchback

The second most popular bodywork is taken by hatchback cars. Their main difference from the sedan is the absence of a protruding trunk. This role in the "truncated" rear of the car is played by the luggage niche, which is closed by a massive rear door.

The reason for the popularity of hatchbacks in Europe is their compact size and maneuverability. There is also a special type of this type of body - liftbacks. In liftbacks, there is a trunk lid, but it opens together with the rear window.

Coupe

Usually a coupe (from the French “couper” - to cut off) is created by companies that produce powerful sports cars. A striking representative of this type of body is the Porsche 911. As a rule, a coupe is designed for two passengers, has two doors and a structurally separated trunk. The roof of the coupe at the rear has a sloping shape, and the body itself is "pressed" to the ground, which allows you to achieve a sporty style.

A separate type of coupe is cabriolet- instead of a hard roof, the convertible has a "soft" folding roof-awning, which rises and folds as needed.
A convertible designed exclusively for two people - a driver and a passenger, is called roadster.

Station wagon

The station wagon is a compromise between a car and a truck. These are hatchback-based cars with an elongated body and a large amount of luggage. Passenger seats in station wagons fold in and out, significantly increasing vehicle space and cargo capacity. The station wagon can have 3 or 5 doors.

SUV

SUV or SUV - Sport Utility Vehicle- a type of vehicle with increased cross-country ability and increased ground clearance. The SUV (jeep) is distinguished by its impressive dimensions, all-wheel drive and a reduction gear. In essence, an SUV is an off-road wagon. Often, an SUV has a frame body.

Separately, we can highlight crossovers, or "SUVs" are often called cars, the driving properties of which do not allow them to be classified as "real" SUVs. The crossover combines the properties of a jeep and a station wagon (hatchback), it is more modest in size compared to an SUV, and its ground clearance is less. Recently, the popularity of crossovers has been growing rapidly.

Minivan

The main difference between the minivan is the presence of a third row of seats, as well as an impressive length. Minivans are often equipped with sliding doors. Minivans are designed to carry passengers. The minivan can accommodate seven people.
Minivans based on vans received a separate name - minibuses... They can accommodate up to 16 people.

Volkswagen touran

Pickup

The pickup is a lightweight utility vehicle with an open cargo area at the rear. Pickup trucks are especially popular in the United States.

It's strange, but every time I see a coupe, I think about the owner: "Dude, you're cool!". Even if we are talking about something absurdly shapeless, acidic and made in China. After all, the fact that a person dared to buy such an unpractical, controversial and attention-grabbing car deserves respect. Here it is, the magic of a coupe - only the most indifferent citizen does not undertake to judge the owner of a coupe car, and its owners love this body precisely for the opportunity to attract the attention of the public. Which, by the way, are ready to put up with a whole range of disadvantages of such dude cars:

Small cabin capacity;

Often small capacity of the trunk;

Wide heavy door, inconvenient in parking lots;

As a rule, the process of landing in a low cabin is inconvenient;

Often problems with spare parts.

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In the photo: Aston Martin DB5

What is a coupe anyway?

Speaking strictly in automotive science, a coupe is a car with a two-door body, with two full adult seats and a trunk separated from the passenger compartment. That is, in other words, a coupe is a two-door two-seater sedan or, as an option, a fastback. A full-fledged compartment can also have an additional pair of passenger seats - less often full-fledged, more often children (passenger formula 2 + 2). But in life everything is much brighter and more interesting.

Miracles of popular classification

It is interesting that in the automotive world, as it were, there are several concepts of a coupe in and of themselves. First, the "popular" classification is the most comprehensive and widespread. Here, a coupe is understood as almost any body with two passenger doors and a low silhouette. With this approach, even the cheapest version of the sedan - the Tudor, a two-door version with a basic engine and minimal equipment (for example, a two-door Opel Ascona C 1981-1988 with a 1.3 liter engine and a 4-speed "mechanics") is easily recorded into such a noble caste. ...

The "folk" classifiers can only be confused by the "Zaporozhets" - to classify this Tudor, ridiculed in hundreds of anecdotes, to the coupe caste the language no longer turns. And not only the idle public is to blame for such a simplified approach, but also the automakers, who sometimes boldly hand out the name of the coupe to cars of other types.

Most often, wanting to increase the prestige of the model and focus on its sportiness, marketers of the brand can assign the Coupe index to the most real three-door hatchback (for example, Renault Megane Coupe or Lada 112 Coupe). Or completely upside down: a full-scale four-door sedan is awarded the title "four-door coupe" or coupe sedan.

In the photo: Lada 112 Coupe

There are few examples, but they are bright and memorable, such as, say, Mercedes CLS and CLA, Volkswagen Passat CC. Of course, the lowered roofline hints at enhanced sporting capabilities, but this is not yet a reason to break the classification canons.

In fact, the range of coupes is much narrower. The bulk of this community is, so to speak, fashion cars, in contrast to sports, which will be discussed below. One way or another, a mass coupe is a car that should show with all its appearance: "My owner is an extraordinary person. He is an advanced guy, do you understand?"

Anatomy of a real coupe

But to be honest, such cars most often differ from a serial mass product only in price and appearance, while the technical filling is similar to the most ordinary family models. At the same time, coupes built on the basis of lower class sedans and hatchbacks usually have a sporty - or rather pseudo-sporty - look.

And yet, such cars are driven and driven a little brighter than the "family" prototypes, with which they share the same technical platform. The back seat of such pseudosport cars is present, but it is uncomfortable for adult riders. For example, to this day, such are the widespread Opel Calibra, based on the Vectra A chassis (1988), or the most common representative of this class on the roads of the CIS - Hyundai Tiburon / Coupe, akin to the Lantra / Elantra sedan.

In the photo: Hyundai Tiburon

Another subclass is less common - executive coupes. They are designed on the platform of high-class cars, almost always retain the architecture of a roomy and comfortable sedan, differing only in the length of the superstructure-cab and the number of doors. This is a real coupe with a three-volume body, an entirely comfortable rear seat and even a roomy trunk.

Compared to the basic executive sedans, such "two-doors" are equipped as richly as possible, equipped with the most powerful motors and, by reconfiguring the suspension for an active drive, they still leave a considerable share of comfort. Vivid examples are the Mercedes-Benz coupe on the chassis of the top S-Class sedans (CL-Class and S-Class Coupe), as well as the Cadillac Eldorado, Buick Riviera ...

In the photo: S-Class Coupe

Perhaps, one more group of one hundred percent coupes can be attributed to the same "representative" category - Gran Turismo cars. They are less comfortable and more sporty, because they are "sharpened" primarily for fast driving, and over long distances on highways. The boundaries of the classification of this class are traditionally blurred, but more often than others models Aston Martin, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Maserati appear in it.

And the most energetic in the "coupe" (or still compartment?) World are powerful sports models of elite brands Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini and a few others. In fact, they are natural coupes, but the paradox is that these road cars are just the least often associated with the type of body. They have earned their good name for their essence (driving performance), and not for their shape (body type).

But they really only have two doors, a salon designed for two adults and a maximum of two children. At the same time, the trunk is reliably separated from the passenger compartment: thanks to the mid- or rear-engined layout, it is often located in the front, and if at the rear, then the engine compartment can share it with people, just like in the mid-engined Porsche Cayman.

In the photo: Porsche Cayman

"Compartment" geography

Much of the above should have been written in the past tense, alas, the golden era of the coupe is over. Together with convertibles, roadsters and other romantic bodies in the sales rankings, they give way to practical crossovers, versatile vans and fearsome SUVs. But, despite the quantitative reduction, the coupe apologists continue to keep the quality bar high. Which, by the way, varied depending on the "regional" school.

Europe

In Europe, initially, a coupe was an indispensable attribute of a young aristocrat. In the pre-war period, a whole galaxy of fashionable ateliers dressed powerful chassis of different brands in stylish two-door bodies of piece work.

The masterpieces of French, Italian and other stylists were great, but their names will tell little to the modern motorist. Those exclusive models, large, roomy and well-equipped, were only available to a select few. However, a quarter of a century later, the Old World, which was rebuilt after the Second World War, received many democratic "two-doors".

Perhaps the leader in this matter in 1960-1970. was an Italian Fiat. Almost every model of his in all classes then had a version with a "coupe" body. Like the less numerous “two-door” cars of other brands, they did not differ particularly in driving performance, but they were interesting in appearance.

Such a massiveness in the elite clan of "cars for egoists" did not last very long: in 1993, the same Fiat released a small model under the proud name Fiat Coupe, without any indexes, since at that time it was its only coupe.

In the photo: Fiat Coupe

More stable were not the popular brands that produce expensive cars: BMW, Mercedes-Benz and the like did not abandon their coupes - until today. From time to time, medium-sized automakers "shot" something bright: Ford Capri, Opel GT, Renault Alpine, etc., but these shots, as a rule, remained "single".

America

America's path, as usual, was special - its coupes, with rare exceptions, were large and, as a rule, had little to do with sports. Officially, the main features are: two doors, a separate trunk and a rear compartment volume limited by SAE standards (no more than 0.93 cubic meters).

Automobiles of this type were very suitable for individualistic Americans, because they rarely drive with a full cabin. In the 1950s, several coupes with different rear roof architecture and interior layout options appeared in the production program of each local brand at once.

In the photo: Plymouth Fury

In the 1960s, the era of muscle cars came, many of which were coupes, although Americans more often referred to them in their own way as fastbacks. Their power and dynamic performance was really impressive, but the handling was worse. The oil crisis, environmental restrictions and general negative trends in the American auto industry have significantly reduced the number of coupes in the New World.

Inexpensive emotional "two-doors" disappeared as a class, and large luxury coupes like the already mentioned Buick Riviera (until 1999) and Cadillac Eldorado (until 2002) did not remain in the production programs of overseas corporations.

In the photo: Cadillac Eldorado

Currently, only one "American branch" is more or less prominently represented - two-seater sports cars such as the Chevrolet Corvette and Dodge Viper, which, due to their exclusivity, are not widespread. There are also new generation muscle cars:, and.

Japan

The Japanese, with their solid approach, if not "fanaticism", have left a bright mark in the history of cars with a coupe body. By the early 1970s, as soon as the auto industry of the Land of the Rising Sun had matured enough, it entered into an exciting and lucrative marketing game called "Coupe is cool!"

In the photo: Toyota Carina 1974

In 1980-90. the production programs of only Mitsubishi (Exlipse, 3000GT), Nissan (100 NX, 200SX, 300ZX) and Toyota (MR2, Celica, Supra) simultaneously included several sports coupes of different classes. Moreover, the cars were predominantly sporty, not only externally, but really could bring pleasure from driving.

In the photo: Nissan 300zx

Several generations of Nissan Silvia and Skyline coupes, built on the chassis of conventional passenger cars, have become iconic. Toyota has even managed to produce a "charged" version of the GT-Four with all-wheel drive, special suspension and turbocharging for several generations even for the mass mid-size Celica.