Quickly remove the rear shelf in my Mazda 6 hatchback, flatten the rear seats and it is so easy to load up with large builders bags etc. My previous saloon (Audi A4) had a decent boot but a large hatchback is much more convenient for awkward loads.
|
I much prefer saloons having owned hatchbacks in the past.
They are more secure, they look better, they are quieter inside, and the bodyshell of the car is more rigid. They also look smarter and more professional.
|
|
|
a large hatchback
= Estate??!
|
|
|
|
(Perceived) advantages of saloons:
1. Structural rigidity - hence improved handling and reduced noise levels
2. Enhanced luggage security
3. Rarity value = snob value = higher residuals. Boot instead of hatch puts car in same league as Saab, Jaguar, RR,... (with a large pinch of salt)
4. Often pushed as upmarket (early Orions)
5. Conversely, may be vastly underrated and good s/h bargains (Jetta GTi)
6. If they look good, they look very good (recent models of Megane, Focus, Astra www.zercustoms.com/photos/2007-Opel-Astra-Sedan.ht...l
Disadvantages:
1. Some pig ugly ones out there (Spain's Renault 7, early Novas and Astras, Fiat Uno, Eastern European Clios...)
2. Not so good for transporting wardrobes.
Er... that's it.
|
In recent years (the last 20) I've mostly had hatchbacks or estates. Had 2 Volvo saloons - 460 and S40 - both had drawbacks - especially the S40, as the boot opening was too narrow to get some suitcases in! Completely no good to carry a wheel chair without spending 10 mintes taking the chair entirely to bits.
I reverted back to estates - and the Saab 95 has been the best, since it has a solid, though hinged, parcel shelf. Keeps down the noise, you can fold it in two and still hide stuff in the boot, but leave the rearmost part open for the dog.
Personally, I'd always stick to hatchbacks or estates simply because of the versatility I need - but can see the attraction of saloon owners who don't have the same need to carry dogs, large articles, or..... rubbish to the recycling centre!
|
Saloon any day for me. I wouldn't buy an estate or hatchback for the one day a year I need to drive to the rubbish tip any more than AE would fit winter tyres for that one day of snow.
I like the solidity and security and I like my mess to be hidden from view.
My favourite cars are saloons, XJ, S8, Lexus LS.
|
|
It varies a lot by country-in France a saloon is preferred and you see few estates but in the Uk & Germany there is a big demand for estates.
|
Missed this thread.
Just to say that the Focus saloon is a great looking car, they should do an ST version, a little more subtle than the current ST.
|
|
The point of saloons is to buy them later in their life, when they are much cheaper than the hatch version. Look at Jetta/Bora - worth pennies as it's the Golf that has the image.
|
I'm wondering what valuables so many of you appear to have that need shutting away in a boot! Are you all antique dealers? And are your contents more appealing to said thief than the car itself?
And if you do have valuables that would attract thieves, why would you take them with you and then leave them in the car at your destination?
I have a school trunk that's to high for an ordinary boot; golf clubs fit easier into a hatch [even the C-class Coupe]. I agree the noise permeates, but only when I'm carrying such kit. Given the alternative is ........well I don't know what it is!
I guess I just feel happier knowing my transport can transport!
|
"I'm wondering what valuables so many of you appear to have that need shutting away in a boot!"
Doesn't have to be valuable to get stolen. Your average lowlife will take anything that isn't welded down. I have a toolkit and sometimes I might leave my coat in the car while I walk around Tescos. And it would be nice if what I buy in Tescos is still in the boot when I get home.
|
|
There was a time when my golf clubs lived permanently in the boot.
|
I like my C5 hatchback. It has the profile of a saloon and at all speeds above 20ish, rain doesn't hit the rear window. You can go as fast as you like in the heaviest rain and still the rear is clear.
Then it is a hatchback to put big things into, like baths.
|
The only thing that ever gets put into the boot of my 530 is my rucksack full of Uni crap which also happens to contain my Dell D620 - so security is important. I much prefer to leave the Laptop in the car than anywhere else barring my home, as it's by far the most secure place for it.
Even if someone breaks into the car, they are absolutely not getting into the boot without a chainsaw or an angle grinder.
|
Even if someone breaks into the car they are absolutely not getting into the boot without a chainsaw or an angle grinder.
>>
You know I'm a huge fan of the E39 but even I'm not convinced that the boot is *that* secure! :-)
|
|
I'm wondering what valuables so many of you appear to have that need shutting away
in a boot! Are you all antique dealers? And are your contents more appealing to said thief than the car itself?>>
My surveying work means that I normally have to leave the car and set off on-foot around the countryside. As this is usually fairly local, I am carrying anything valuable (gps, binoculars, camera etc) with me but the other stuff - mainly spare clothing - is left in the old Mondy estate in deliberately open view. I would not use the rear tonneau cover as I've had the car broken into before now. The tonneau attracts scrotes!
The problem comes when I work away from home and I need an over-night bag. I normally have to keep the bag in the car until I go to the hotel in the early evening - and for these jobs I have to borrow SWMBO's Focus hatch. [For security, a saloon would be better]
|
|
Scrotes are badge snobs! ....No really, I have to leave large quantities of stuff in my car which I need on a daily basis for work. I should probably buy a van but choose to use an estate car for its versatility. Now, when I had BMW estates they were broken into regularly. A Golf GTi I had for a couple of years during my mid-life thingy was broken into four times and stolen once. However, my last three cars have been Mondeo estates. They get left in all sorts of dodgy inner city locations with loads of kit on view and have never been touched! Must be some kind of "designer label" thing going on amongst the criminal fraternity.
|
|
|
|
|
Here in the ROI saloons have traditionally been preferred to hatches. You can even get the new model corolla saloon which isnt available in the UK (not exactly a thing of beauty i might ass). There is even a 4 month waiting list on a corolla saloon!!!!! Madness! Hatches are on the increase over the last 10 years or so and now sales are probably split at least 50:50.
|
I think I'd always choose hatchbacks but I can see that some people might prefer saloons - so it's worthwhile manufacturers offering them. But they should be styled nicely.
The ORIGINAL Ford Focus, with its edgy shape and strange body detailing didn't work at all on the saloon version, and the rear looked like it had been shunted at low speed by a lorry! The new Focus is nicer in hatch and saloon forms.
|
|
As I found, saloons aren't always more secure than hatches - many saloons have a folding back seat which isn't locked so forcing a door or window still allows access to the boot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Disadvantages: 1. Some pig ugly ones out there (Spain's Renault 7 early Novas and Astras Fiat Uno Eastern European Clios...) 2. Not so good for transporting wardrobes. Er... that's it.
3. If it's cold weather and your door locks freeze such that the doors won't open from outside, you can't crawl in through the tailgate and open the doors from the inside (yes, happened to me recently).
I don't know if it's because I'm a child of the 70s, when hatchbacks were all the rage, but I've always perceived saloons as somewhat staid and humdrum in comparison. Having said that there are some pretty ones around (eg. VW Bora, Mazda 3, SEAT Toledo II...)
|
We prefer houses to flats, hatchbacks over saloons, crave over new-ish number plate etc. etc.
UK market is different - that's all.
As others stated, in most other parts in the world, saloons are preferred over hatches.
The saloon looks smarter, rear windows doesn't need a wiper - but then I can unload my shopping trolley by opening the hatch, without getting drenched during the rain :)
|
"rear windows doesn't need a wiper"
Oh yes they do! My last 2 cars have been saloons and there have been many occasions when a rear wiper was needed. (See various previous threads on this.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
