The UK is the exception in preferring hatches. Go to Dublin and see familier cars in unfamiliar shapes (e.g. Corolla or Mazda 323 Saloons).
I like the point about guessing whether the saloon or hatch was designed first! For example, the Focus hatch looks much better than the saloon while the old Avensis saloon looks better than the hatch.
Mrsb is firmly of the opinion that all cars should be 3 box shape with a boot. She instinctively dislikes all hatches, especially if the rear hatch door is vertical. Persuading her she should have a Yaris was hard work!
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Of course a 4 dr saloon will have a stiffer body than a 5 dr hatch (fewer door openings). This is why in the good-old-days of touring car racing the Mondeos/Primeras etc were all 4 door models.
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Of course a 4 dr saloon will have a stiffer body than a 5 dr hatch (fewer door openings). This is why in the good-old-days of touring car racing the Mondeos/Primeras etc were all 4 door models.
Except when they raced the Volvo estate. Complete with fluffy dog in the back.. (yes ok I know it was a stunt - good one tho)
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In the UK we really are out of step with the rest of the world with our love of hatchbacks,strange really,have we succombed to some sort of marketing hype?
Must say i usually prefer saloon models.Anyway Lexus don't make a hatchback.
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I would say that we are simply carrying on our historical motoring roots. Also the saloon version of little hatches are pretty horrid looking. So therefore by deduction the british have far better taste than most other countries!
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After over 20 great years of Cavaliers, I have now owned Lexus 200 for 18 mths and love it for its quality (altho not for the performance). But I do miss both the hatchback format and the sure-footedness of front wheel drive (particularly in wet/snow etc). When I change, it will be back to hatch and fwd, or 4-wd! Wonder if Lexus (and BMW and Mercedes come to that) will ever drop rear wheel drive?
El Hacko
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Quite right, peterb.
Also, saloons tend to be quieter as you have separate, smaller boxes, rather than 1 big box for people and luggage.
Easier to insulate and deaden.
Could mention security of boot vs hatch, but neither are that good.
Tradition too. Mercs, BMWs, (No Jags, Bentleys, Rolls-Royces) with hatches nothing like as popular as saloons. Upmarket status and all that.
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Citroen designed a booted XM for the American market too. It never left the drawing board. The convertible XM stayed there too!
BR
Michael
steam.to a summers day out
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One main thing is practicality, although Saloons now come with the rear seats folding, they will never match the space and usefullness of a Hatch.
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Generaly I prefer saloons for all the reasons given, security, stiffness, noise etc. But the cars I was interested in were all so damn ugly with boots. Plus you have to think of doggy. Dont want damp drooling labrador on the back seats!
Hatchbacks sell in the uk, as do estate cars. Disagree about the tradition bit, estate Beemers, Mercs, SAABs Volvos sell well to the huntin/shootin/fishin brigade and at a price premium over the saloons.
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Sorry Renault Family, I meant hatchbacks, but you're right about the likes of the ML class, the BMW X5, X3 etc and of course, the beautiful Porsche Cayenne, so pretty that the midwife smacked it's mother on the back when it was born.
Leave me alone, I'm joking.
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Surely people buy hatches because they're more practical for the occasional load-lugging than a saloon. Certainly found the Alfa 75 a bit of a nuisance if we wanted to carry something a bit bulky or awkwardly shaped. The ability to fold down the back seats in the Celica certainly makes it more practical than the Alfa. And no, I don't want an estate.
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The (early) C5s (such as mine!) don't have rear wipers. The rumour is that Citroen wanted to conceal the fact that it is a hatchback, believing that it would slip into the 'executive' niche more comfortably disguised as a saloon. They must have thought that a rear wiper would be a dead giveaway!
Needless to say, of course, they have been forced to start fitting rear wipers to the latest models. Seeing where you're going in reverse is a bit more important than posing, I guess!
Ho hum....
Graeme
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Saw something really odd the other day. A Skoda Fabia saloon! I didn't even know that a) they made them, and b) they sold any here (it was on a UK plate). It was quite ugly, fairly spoiled my dinner it did.
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Medium saloons have a larger boot than large hatchbacks.
My rare Astra Saloon has a boot of 460 litres (16.2 cu.ft). There are few larger listed in What Car, at any price.
I chose the saloon because I hate the wind and rain blowing through the car every time a hatchback is opened, and because it's different!
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I've seen just one Fabia saloon very strange. As for other small saloons India is full of them - your normal everyday hatch, Fiestas and Corsa but with a boot. The Ford version is called an Ikon. Apparently in India a saloon is seen as a status symbol. www.fordikon.com
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Correct, also the Ikon has a higher roof and a long wheelbase since a lot of them will be chauffer driven
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I chose the saloon because I hate the wind and rain blowing through the car every time a hatchback is opened, and because it\'s different!
Citroen XMs have an internal window which prevents wind and rain blowing through the car when the hatchback is opened. The window lifts up if required or can be removed.
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I'd agree with you RogerL, my old Jetta has the largest boot I've ever seen in a saloon or hatchback. Unfortunately the rear seats don't fold which hinders practicality somewhat.
Interesting that the Astra saloon is mentioned - I've just returned from a week in Ireland and, as peterb mentioned, the vast majority of medium-sized cars are saloons, with Corollas, Almeras and Astras being particularly popular. I was astounded to realise that Vauxhall/Opel had produced a saloon version of the current Astra - I've certainly never seen one in the UK.
Often these saloons can be a canny long-term secondhand buy, as they have much more rapid initial depreciation than the hatchback equivalent - having said that, my Jetta (bought at 15 years old) was still a good 30% cheaper than the equivalent Golf, seemingly just because it is a saloon (or perhaps just because Golfs have a much better image for another reason?).
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Spot on, r.
The Bora's going the same way in England, but is very popular in Ireland and the rest of Europe.
Bargains to be had later, methinks.
You just can't nip down to B&Q and stick a sheet of plasterboard in, can you?
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Sean,
Agreed. Didn't see a lot of Boras in Ireland but they really took to the Vento, I've never seen so many. Interesting to see that the Corolla/Vento/Almera was the taxi of choice, as well - I would have thought they were a bit tight on rear legroom, but there you are.
I've got a roofrack to cover any DIY aspirations, but I'd say that most saloons nowadays have folding rear seats. Saab 99s and 900s always did, if I recall correctly, although I remember Peugeot explaining that the reason the 405 saloon's rear seats didn't fold was to preserve the driving dynamics. Having said that my Jetta has a ski-flap through the armrest but as I don't ski or carry scaffolding poles it doesn't get used...
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You could say the same about SUVs (how many can actually go off-road?), off-roaders (how many actually go off-road?), people carriers (when was the last time you saw one full of people)....
Andy
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The reason for the Bora is the US market. VW do well in the States and the cars you see there are Passats and Boras. (I think the Bora is still named Jetta or possibly Vento.)
By the way, I don't think anyone has mentioned ease of parking and reversing. My last two cars have both been saloons, but every time I get a hatch as a hire car I'm stuck by how easy they are to reverse.
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Did see lots of old shape corsa saloons in Mexico.
Badged as chevrolet 'chevy'.
HAHAHA (ooh I've wet 'em).
--
Dr Alex Mears
Seat ibiza Cupra
Mazda MX-5 1.8iS
Yamaha RD350YPVS
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Consider the Civic IMA.
Fantastic technology, with massive potential, but currently only available in the Americanised saloon body. I rather suspect that it won't take off here unless Honda develop a hatchback version. Which would be a shame.
Further evidence we're in the minority with respect to our absurd taste in hatches.
Ed.
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Krakow has plenty of 306 Sedans if my last visit was anything to go by, but I didn't see a single 306 hatchback.
China is full of Corsa saloons badged as the Buick Sail.
Again, I didn't see a single hatchback.
My personal view on this?
If you're not worried about boot volume but need to carry more than two people, buy a saloon. If you need anything more, buy an estate. Why buy a hatch and compromise both the capacity, and the looks (most cars offered in both guises look much better as estates than hatches IMHO)?
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Approaching this from an Australian point of view....sedans (saloons) and wagons (estates) are very popular in Oz, but the liftback (hatch) runs a very poor third except for the very small cars.
Mind you, we dont see many 'ute's in the UK, in country Australia almost 50% of road vehicles would be a Ute. (Utility, pickup or trayback version of a road going car or 4*4). For example the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore both have sedan, wagon and ute versions.
Ian L.
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I side with those who explain booted cars by pointing the finger at the continent.
Indeed, it is a proven fact that booted cars are designed purely for the Belgian market, where the land is largely flat and featureless and a booted car brings some variation to the topography.
By the way, can anybody name 10 famous Belgians?
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lol - I'll get you half way to your famous Belgians.
Kim Clijsters
Justine Hénin Hardenne
Jean Claude van Damme
Jacques Brel
Jacques Santer
erm...
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Given the local preferance for a car with a boot, why does the Indian guy in the Peugeot advert desire a hatchback so much? Surely he would have been better-off making his car look like the elegant* 306 Sedan
*irony
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lol - I'll get you half way to your famous Belgians.
Kim Clijsters
Justine Hénin Hardenne
Jean Claude van Damme
Jacques Brel
Jacques Santer
erm...
...Eddy Mercx
Come on, only four to go...
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>>> Surely he would have been better-off making his car look like the elegant* 306 Sedan
*irony <<<
Actually, although it was purchased for reasons of history and economics (one personally known owner, 8 years old, genuine 14k miles, cost peanuts) SWMBOs' 306 Sedan looks quite pretty in dark pearlescent green, so no irony needed!
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Famous Belgians..
Herge (the Tintin author)
Only 3 to go
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...Oh, and Adolphe Sax, so only three to go... and then I spotted the web link that's just been posted, which I guess takes the sport out of it! ;-)
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