What is the difference between a hatchback and a station wagon? Sedan or hatchback - what's the difference? The differences are getting smaller

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 designs in one body type, which results in more varieties, and they are so similar to each other. But you can distinguish them, and we will help you figure it out.

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

Sedan

Sedan is the most popular body type among passenger cars mobiles in our country. This is a three-volume body with four doors and a separate luggage compartment. Average ground clearance will allow you to travel both around 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 sedan cars

The coupe is also a three-volume body; the main difference from the sedan is the number of doors: the coupe has two. The design is more understated, sporty, and therefore more powerful. Because there are only two, they are slightly larger than the sedan, which adds to the comfortable driving position. Among the minuses, in addition to the insufficient luggage compartment, we can note the inconvenient entry of second-row passengers. This type of body is suitable for travel by one passenger, and there are no plans to transport large items.

Examples of cars with coupe body type

Hatchback 3 and 5 doors

A hatchback is a two-volume body type that differs from a sedan in the volume of the trunk: it is smaller, but the rear door starts from the roof, which will allow you to transport tall objects, and the folding second row of seats will increase the luggage space. Suitable for purchase by novice drivers as a first car, because this body type is small-sized, very maneuverable, and ideal for the urban jungle. The main drawback is the low power, and in the three-door versions there is an uncomfortable seating position for 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 distinctive feature in the form of a small step on the fifth door (liftback - “rising lid”). The trunk is connected to rear window and opens with him. But in appearance, the liftback resembles a sedan and is often confused with it due to the protrusion on the luggage compartment lid.

Station wagon

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

Example station wagon body type

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

Crossover

Crossover is a two-volume body type. This is something between an SUV and a station wagon, or less often a hatchback, combining the disadvantages and advantages of these different classes. The crossover differs from the hatchback more high ground clearance and, accordingly, increased cross-country ability, but does not reach the level of jeeps due to lower power and sometimes the presence of single-wheel drive. Crossover is a fairly popular car on our roads. It has the confidence of an SUV, the efficiency of a station wagon and the comfort of both driver and passengers, regardless of whether you are carrying luggage or not. To meet customer demand, manufacturers began to produce simplified all-wheel drive systems and produce single-wheel drive crossover models. They are used only in urban conditions, and off-road capability is practically no better than that of station wagons, which is why the expression “parquet SUV” or “SUV” for short 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 actual cross-country ability parameters.

Examples of cars with crossover body type

SUV or Jeep

An SUV is also a two-volume body type, and as stated just above, it is a car with a high degree of cross-country ability. How to distinguish an SUV externally from another type of car body? SUV is four wheel drive vehicle necessarily with frame body and high ground clearance(more than 200 mm), big wheels. Since this car was created for off-road travel, it is distinguished by high power and, accordingly, high fuel consumption. Therefore, among the disadvantages we can note: high cost (both purchase and costs for spare parts, refueling). This type of body is perfect for lovers of extreme types of recreation, solving the complex problems of Russian off-road, or can take a snowmobile, ATV, or jet ski with them, and for city residents, an SUV will be a prestigious and reliable car, but it will not be able to reveal its full potential.

Examples of SUVs

Pickup

There are also SUVs with a closed driver's cabin 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 (rarely rear-wheel drive) SUV with 1 or 2 rows of seats arranged in a 2, 2+1, 2+2, 2+3 pattern, externally resembling a small truck. The main advantage of this car is the luggage compartment, which is unlimited in height. The cargo bed has a tailgate and can be installed with a soft top (with a hard top installed, the pickup turns into a van). Pickup trucks are purchased by people whose line of work involves small-scale cargo transportation, as well as people living outside the city, because transporting a dozen bags of crops on a pickup truck is a pleasure.

Some models with a pickup body type

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

In the USSR there was not only sex, but also types car bodies. Or rather, there was only one body type - a classic sedan. Later, the country learned about station wagons - for example, these were the white Volgas working in the medical service. And with the advent of perestroika, hatchbacks appeared - the VAZ-2109 “nines”. And then it started: coupes, roadsters, crossovers, microvans, liftbacks - Henry Ford himself would break his leg. And then marketing came to the aid of manufacturers: auto giants began calling their new models with completely mysterious words like “four-door coupe” or “fastback.” Komsomolskaya Pravda tried to put everything together and understand modern types of car bodies.

Let us note right away that everything is so mixed up that it is impossible today to fit the variety of modern automobile forms to a common denominator. No matter what you take as a basis, there will still be cars that do not fall into the class at all. Having simplified certain aspects, we decided to divide all body types into three groups: three-volume, two-volume and single-volume.

Three-volume bodies

The main feature is the protruding hood and trunk, as in the classic Zhiguli of the first model. This is the most conservative type of body, and gradually the global fashion for such cars is fading away - they say, there is no versatility and no possibility of transforming the interior and trunk. This group includes sedans, coupes (including convertibles) and pickups.

The most striking representative of the three-volume body is sedan, which is still present in model range almost all manufacturers. Unlike Europe, the sedan is extremely popular on Belarusian roads, where “prestige is everything,” and many drivers still divide cars into sedans and non-sedans.

Coupe- the same sedan, only not with four, but with two doors. Coupes are usually built on the basis of a sedan and have a sporty bias - a lower body, powerful engines.

Cabriolet- This is a sedan or coupe with a soft tent 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 it began to gain popularity new option open body - hardtop coupe. At first glance, it looks like a regular coupe, but when you press a button, the hard metal roof lifts up and folds neatly into the trunk, turning the coupe into a convertible. A two-seater convertible (without the second row of seats) is called roadster.

Pickup is a car with an open cargo area separated from the passenger compartment by a rigid partition. Simply put, this is a smaller copy of a regular truck - like in films about American farmers. Most pickup trucks are built on the same platform as SUVs and have good cross-country ability. In Belarus, and throughout Europe, pickup trucks are not popular, but in the USA they are crazy about them.

Two-volume bodies

They do not have a protruding trunk, and its rear lid opens only with the glass and is considered another door. That is, there are three-door and five-door cars. Two-volume bodies include hatchbacks, station wagons, as well as those created on their basis crossovers and SUVs. Two-volume bodies are distinguished by the most spacious luggage compartments (station wagons) and compact dimensions (hatchbacks).

The main difference between a hatchback and a station wagon is the length of the trunk. In addition to the usual hatchback, there is also liftback- a hatchback with an almost three-volume body. In a liftback, the trunk lid has a small protrusion and resembles a sedan, but opens together with the rear window. The main advantage of a hatchback is its compactness and maneuverability, but a station wagon always wins in terms of trunk volume.

Most SUVs and crossovers (more on them later) are essentially station wagons, but they can be placed in a separate class due to their appearance and size. SUV, thanks to its high ground clearance, all-wheel drive and the presence of a frame body, it is always higher than any station wagon and most crossovers. Crossover Although it tries to look like an SUV, it cannot boast of a frame body and impressive ground clearance and is very often inferior to an SUV in height. In addition, crossovers are increasingly being created on the basis of hatchbacks and differ from them only in increased ground clearance and larger wheels. These are often called SUVs- they say, a pseudo-SUV is only suitable for driving on smooth asphalt.

However, recently the popularity of crossovers around the world, and even in Belarus, has grown very much. Despite the fact that the first crossovers appeared relatively recently, almost every manufacturer already has such a body in its model range or plans to add it in the near future.

One-volume bodies

They do not have a far protruding hood and trunk - the engine and luggage compartment are practically in the cabin. Single-volume bodies boast a huge number of options for transforming their spacious interiors. These include the youngest body types: minivans, compact vans and microvans- that is, almost all family cars of any size. These body options can be distinguished by the size of the car and the number of rows of seats.

Microvan- This is simply a hatchback that has been increased in height with a more spacious interior. The microvan does not have a third row of seats. 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 seen more and more often.

VIEW FROM THE SIXTH FLOOR

Over time, the difference between body types becomes less and less noticeable. What is the price of the Skoda Superb sedan-hatchback (the trunk lid opens with or without glass) or an almost one-volume hatchback Honda Civic. The desire of manufacturers to create the most versatile car will soon lead to the fact that it will be incredibly difficult to understand what type of body a car has. For example, because of its smooth, blurred shapes, advertisers called the Mercedes CLS sedan “the first four-door coupe in the world.” And the BMW X6 SUV was called the Sports Activity Coupé. Although the body of two latest cars many experts call it a fastback because of the shape of the roof, which smoothly flows into the trunk. It turns out that this term was used back in the 1930s to refer to cars with a teardrop rear end. In general, the time is not far off when a department of the history of automobile bodies will open at the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, and students of BNTU or BSEU will defend their diplomas on the topic “Four-door coupe: echoes of heritage or a victim of marketing?”

One of the most important criteria that guides the selection of a car is the body type. The number of car body types has almost doubled over the past 15-20 years. Manufacturers are increasingly trying to combine several body types in one car. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish one option from another, but we will still do it.

Let's look at the classification of car body types

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

Three-volume units

Three-volume body has a protruding hood and trunk. Three-volume vehicles are among the least versatile bodies due to the limited possibility of transforming 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. A coupe (from the French “couper” - to cut off) is usually built on the basis of a sedan and has a sporty bias (lower body, powerful engines). A coupe does not always have a pronounced three-volume body and is often shaped like a three-door hatchback. But a hatchback is always distinguished by its vertically positioned tailgate, which in a coupe they try to make as horizontal as possible.

Convertible, coupe-cabriolet, roadster.

A convertible is a coupe with a “soft” tent roof that folds behind the rear seats and raises when 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 began to gain popularity - the coupe-convertible. At first glance, it looks like a regular 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 (without a second row of seats) is called a roadster.

Porsche Boxster Roadster Audi TTS Roadster

Pickup.

Mitsubishi L200 pickup

A pickup truck is a body with an open cargo area separated from the interior by a rigid partition. Simply put, it is a smaller 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 also means “to pick up”, “to pick up”, that is, to quickly throw it into the back... Most pickups are built on the same platform as SUVs and have good cross-country ability. Both here and throughout Europe, pickup trucks are not particularly popular, but in the USA they are crazy about them.

Two-volume

For 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 compartments (station wagons) and compact dimensions (hatchbacks - “hatchback”, can be translated in English as “rear door”). At the same time, both station wagons and hatchbacks have a folding back seat, which allows you to significantly increase the trunk volume and the characteristics always indicate its minimum (i.e. with the seats folded down) and maximum (with the seats folded down) values.

Hatchback, station wagon.

Hatchback Skoda Fabia New and Skoda station wagon Fabia New Combi

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 a liftback, the trunk lid has a small protrusion and resembles a sedan, but opens together with the rear window.

Hatchbacks are very popular in Europe, but here they are only gaining popularity, and then mainly thanks to liftbacks (due to their similarity with sedans).

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

SUV.

Although the crossover tries to look like an SUV, it 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 on real off-road...

Crossover Nissan Qashqai

In addition, crossovers are increasingly being created on the basis of hatchbacks and differ from them only in increased ground clearance and larger wheels.

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

Monovolume trucks

Single-volume the body does not have a far protruding hood and trunk - the engine and luggage compartment are practically in the cabin. Single-volume bodies boast a huge number of options for transforming their spacious interiors.

“Single-volume vehicles” include the “youngest” body types: minivans, compact vans, microvans - 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 is between a microvan and a minivan in size, with a length of 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 essence, this is a slightly smaller (compact) version of a minivan.

Microvan

Microvan Nissan Note

A microvan is simply an increased size (height) hatchback with a more spacious interior. The microvan does not have a third row of seats. 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 seen more and more often.

The differences are getting smaller

Gradually, the difference between the types becomes less noticeable. Just look at the Skoda Superb sedan-hatchback (the trunk lid opens with or without glass) or the almost one-volume Honda Civic hatchback.

The development of modern infrastructure has given impetus to the widespread use of various variations of passenger cars for urban traffic and intercity transportation. Particularly popular among domestic consumers Hatchbacks and station wagons are used.

But what is the difference between a hatchback and a station wagon? And what are their advantages over “classic” sedans? In this article we will answer the most common questions from motorists.

A hatchback is a variation of a passenger car with a short overhang, a rear “hatch” door and a small luggage compartment combined with the interior. Depending on the specific configuration, the car may have 1 (less often) or 2 rows of seats, 3 or 5 doors. The luggage compartment can be significantly increased by simply folding the rear seats.

The appearance of hatchbacks was the result of the growing demand for a city car, behind the wheel of which the driver would feel comfortable in dense city traffic during rush hour. The border of the body runs along the edge of the rear wheels. The layout in most cases provides front wheel drive with a transverse engine. These solutions can significantly increase the vehicle’s maneuverability and make parking possible in difficult conditions.

A beginner who has just graduated from driving school will feel more confident in a hatchback, since the dimensions of the body are much better felt on it.

Let us once again pay attention to the characteristic distinctive features:

Shortened rear overhang– thanks to this feature, the hatchback is easy to distinguish from other modifications in appearance;
The trunk volume is less spacious than in station wagons or other variations;
There is a door in the back wall. In some cases, the glass in it can open separately.

Due to the fact that the cabin is actually combined with trunks, passengers may complain of an unpleasant odor emanating from the trunk if specific food products are regularly transported there, motor oils etc.

Station wagon: I take everything I own with me!

The station wagon is a five-door passenger car based on a sedan of the same model, in which 4 doors are located on the sides in pairs, and one in the rear of the body. The latter is located vertically and is the lid of the luggage compartment, which communicates with the interior of the car.

If necessary, the volume of the luggage compartment can be increased by folding the rear row of seats (the same as in the hatchback we discussed above).

Of all types of passenger cars, station wagons are best suited for cargo transportation, which is why they have been consistently popular for many years among people working with large luggage.

The disadvantages of the class, as a rule, include increased injuries among passengers as a result of road accidents. In the event of a collision, cargo from the trunk may fly into the cabin. In some countries the rules traffic the use of a special dividing net is prescribed, which protects people from force majeure situations.

The main differences between a hatchback and a station wagon

Common features inherent in the hatchback and station wagon - both classes are a modified sedan with an essentially combined interior and trunk.

The differences between a hatchback and a station wagon are as follows:

The size of the luggage compartment is significantly smaller in the Hatchback. The station wagon is excellent for cargo transportation and is often purchased by private entrepreneurs and medium-sized companies precisely for these purposes;
The hatchback features a more elegant rear design. The inclined door looks much more beautiful than the strict vertical overhang of the station wagon. Women often make choices based on this;
The station wagon is longer than the hatchback. This can be a significant disadvantage in urban environments if the car is used only for transporting passengers, but when it comes to large cargo, this is definitely an advantage;
The hatchback can be supplied in a “sporty” 3-door configuration;
Station wagons, as a rule, are more expensive than hatchbacks of the same series.

Both classes of passenger cars discussed in this article occupy their niche in the domestic market and are in demand among Russian motorists due to their features.

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

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 look at the presented types in more detail.

Sedan

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

The sedan is the most common 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 body style is occupied by hatchback cars. Their main difference from the sedan is the absence of a protruding trunk. This role in the “truncated” rear part of the car is played by a luggage compartment closed by a massive rear door.

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

Coupe

Typically, a coupe (from the French “couper” - to cut off) is created by companies that produce powerful sports cars. A prominent representative of this type of body is the Porsche 911. As a rule, a coupe car is designed for two passengers, has two doors and a structurally separated trunk. The rear coupe roof 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 that rises and folds as needed.
A convertible designed exclusively for two people - driver and passenger - is called roadster.

Station wagon

A station wagon is a compromise between a car and a truck. These are cars created on the basis of hatchbacks with an elongated body and a large amount of luggage space. Passenger seats in station wagons fold and stow away, significantly increasing vehicle space and cargo capacity. A station wagon can have 3 or 5 doors.

SUV

SUV or SUV - Sport Utility Vehicle- a type of car with increased cross-country ability and increased ground clearance. The SUV (jeep) has impressive dimensions, all-wheel drive and downshift. Essentially, an SUV is a station wagon suitable for off-road use. Often an SUV has a frame body.

Separately, we can highlight crossovers, or “SUVs” - this is how cars are often called whose driving properties 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 lower. 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 its 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 accommodate up to 16 people.

Volkswagen Touran

Pickup

The pickup truck is light in weight truck with an open rear cargo area. Pickup trucks are especially popular in the USA.