5 Popular vehicle body forms — 1
Cars were originally designed to be a comfortable and potent mode of transport, capable of hauling people and their belongings from place to place. However, they have evolved from being just modes of transportation to becoming a statement of personal style. There are different types of car body forms, each suited for different demographic and use cases. This is the first part of this article, and more body forms will come up later, stay tuned. Here are the first five popular body forms we’ll be considering.
Sedans
Sedans are very popular car body forms around the world, and they fit in for very good reasons. Sedans are family cars that are able to seat five people comfortably. It usually has two rows and a completely covered body form. It has its engine in the front, and cargo space behind. Varying forms of sedans exist, including full-size sedans like the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Kia Cadenza among others. There are mid-size sedans like Toyota Camry and Volkswagen Passat, and compact sedans like Honda Civic.
Hatchbacks
Previously, hatchbacks referred to compact sedans with a square roof and a hatch door behind instead of the traditional trunk style in sedans. The trunk style in hatchbacks gives it more cargo space, and ability to contain more of your stuff. The typical examples of hatchbacks are Mini Coopers, and Golf GTI. In recent times, larger cars are beginning to buy into the hatchback style of vehicles like the Audi A7.
Sport-Utility Vehicles (SUV)
SUVs are cars with a higher seating position, higher ground clearance and have a boxy look. They usually seat between 5 and 8 occupants. SUVs have off-road capacities, with four wheel drivetrain. They are heavier, more sturdy, and have higher towing capacity than regular vehicles. Cadillac Escalade, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator comfortably fit into this class.
Station wagons
Station wagons or simply wagons are similar to sedans, but have very large trunk space for carriage. Instead of a trunk in sedans, they have an extended roofline, and a hatch door. The extra room they have in the trunk space makes them ideal for camping trips and long family road trips. Examples of station wagons include Audi A4 All road, Volvo V60, and Subaru Outback.
Minivans
Do not let the “Mini” fool you. Minivans are large box-like vehicles on wheels, and they are the perfect family cars. They have sliding doors for easy entry and exit, and hatch style doors behind. They usually have three rows of seating, and are very comfortable to carry the family and luggage in one go. Examples are Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, and Dodge Caravan.
It helps to know these car body types, as it comes in handy when you need to purchase a car for specific purposes. For large families, minivans are ideal, while station wagons or sedans are ideal for smaller families. Stay tuned for part 2.