Tag: Sedan

Car Body Types




Hatch-backs are the types of cars that have no rear boot, but they have a rear compartment that can be accessed via a door that swings open at the back. The other feature of this type of car is that rear luggage compartment is not sealed off from the passenger compartment. Hatch-backs are usually smaller cars and they often have only three doors, including the swing door at the back.


Estate cars, or wagons, are like a larger version of a hatchback with an extended rear compartment for storing luggage. Like a hatchback, this type of cars luggage area is not separated from the passenger compartment and, usually, the rear seats can be folded down to accommodate a greater amount of luggage when it is required. Due to the extended rear compartment, estate cars are normally quite long.


A coupe will be quite a small, two door car, and they are usually quite sporty in style too. They will normally only seat two people comfortably, but they might have two very small seats in the rear, but with very limited leg room.


Convertibles, sometimes called cabriolets, are the types of cars where the roof can be removed so that it can be driven with the roof open in the summer. They are usually a similar sized car to a coupe style car and they too generally have limited room inside and are not suitable for any more than two people. The roof is often made of soft fabric; hence the term soft top, but more expensive convertibles might have hard tops that are folded back by hydraulics.


The term M.P.V, or multi-purpose vehicle, is usually applied to vehicles that have large bodies, like a van, but it still has both rear and side doors. Examples of M.P.V’s are people carriers, minivans, and multi utility vehicles (M.U.V’s). They can often seat as many as seven people and they are also characterised by being higher off the ground than a saloon type of car.


Pickup trucks are the type of vehicle that has a flat-bed open space at the rear of the vehicle for carrying luggage and equipment. They are usually large vehicles, often 4×4, and they are designed to carry heavy loads, as well as people.


An off-road vehicle, such as a Land Rover, or a Jeep, will have been designed to be driven on the roads as well as off them. Typically, they will have a 4×4 drive, and the ability to be driven in very low gears, so that they can cope with muddy and difficult terrain.