Your Guide to Car Body Types – Part 2

If you’re in the market for a new car, you’ve probably been thorough with your research as you narrow down your selection. But if you’re still sitting on the fence, identifying the vehicle you need can sometimes be difficult if you don’t understand how that is influenced by the body type of each car.

Not only can the body of a car have a bearing on overall ride comfort and performance, but it can influence your ongoing ownership costs. Here, in part 2 of this guide, we take a look at the various car body types to enable you to frame your buying decision.

SUV

Now the first choice for the majority of Australian new car buyers, SUVs – or sports utility vehicles – are defined by their imposing, boxy appearance. They are bigger and more durable than ordinary passenger cars, which also means they require more power under the bonnet. At the same time they are also a standout for cargo and towing capacity.

An option well suited to large families, many SUVs are just as adept off-road as they are on bitumen, although this varies from model to model, and also depends on whether they are fitted with a 4×2 or 4×4 setup. Their running costs will generally be more on account of their higher fuel requirements, plus the wear and tear arising from their overall weight and size.

Crossover

At first glance crossovers may look rather similar to SUVs, and that’s because their design is shared. Under their external façade however, the mechanical chassis of each offers a distinct difference.

Crossovers sport a unibody construction, often sharing the same platform as that found in passenger vehicles, making them more suited for bitumen and not so much off-road. This differs to SUVs, which have a truck-like platform where the body sits on the frame. From an ergonomics perspective, crossovers are often praised for their leg room and higher passenger positioning.

Ute

Seen at construction sites all around the country, utes feature an enclosed cabin, with open cargo tray in the rear. The cabin may have a single row of seating, or a second row as well, while the tray has a tailgate and low sides for ease of access to transport goods. More often than not utes will use the same chassis as that in vans, or even serve as the platform for SUVs. This means they have a robust and durable frame for coping with high workloads.

Multipurpose vehicle

Multipurpose vehicles – or MPV for short – are a form of van, albeit with flexibility for carrying either passengers, or cargo. From a passenger perspective, they can carry as many as 8 or 9 passengers, while folding seats can optimise the same space to transport goods instead. Because it stands more upright than SUVs, their roof clearance is greater and provides an enlarged sense of space inside. MPVs are also more suited for children and elderly passengers given their ease of access and seating ergonomics, however their handling sometimes falls short of comparable cars in other segments.

Van

Vans share many of the practicalities that MPVs do, albeit they are tailored for commercial purposes and thus have less flexibility and amenity when it comes to moving people around. Boasting sizeable storage and payload capacity, the large size of vans typically means they have a large turning circle and are restricted in terms of manoeuvrability and performance. Their distinctive barn-style rear doors and sliding side doors offer great access, which does sometimes make them a convenient option to transport crew.

Your Guide to Car Body Types – Part 1

If you’re in the market for a new car, you’ve probably been thorough with your research as you narrow down your selection. But if you’re still sitting on the fence, identifying the vehicle you need can sometimes be difficult if you don’t understand how that is influenced by the body type of each car.

Not only can the body of a car have a bearing on overall ride comfort and performance, but it can influence your ongoing ownership costs. Here, in part 1 of this guide, we take a look at the various car body types to enable you to frame your buying decision.

Sedan

Once the most popular vehicle category, sedans have been a mainstay on our roads for as long as we have depended on cars. Made recognisable by their three zones – one dedicated to passengers, one for the engine, and the other assigned to luggage – they feature four doors and usually offer supreme access.

Sedans may further be categorised into sub-segments. At the upper end of the price range you will run into limousine style sedans, with an extended wheel base and further compartmentalisation to increase amenity and ride comfort. Expect ongoing costs to tally up quickly!

You may also see compact and sub-compact sedans, which generally sport a shorter wheel base and may have less rear leg room or space in the luggage hold. Fastbacks have a distinctive design where the rear of the body slopes down towards the bumper, occupying some rear head room.

Coupe

Similar to the sedan, except coupes will generally come with two doors and place a higher priority on style over added space for passengers and cargo. As such, most coupes are tailored towards just two occupants.

Compared with convertibles, coupes have a hard top roof, which slopes to the rear. In recent times the introduction of the Grand Tourer sub-segment and four-door coupes have provided added practicality, as well as more space and luxury touches.

Convertible

Also going by the name of cabriolet or roadsters, convertibles have one practical advantage over coupes. They come with either a retractable soft or hard top roof, allowing occupants to embrace the elements. Beyond that however, they share the same athletic design as coupes, with both generally known for their nimble and sporty handling attributes.

Wagon

Station wagons are characterised by a long, drawn-out body that optimises rear space for additional luggage and head room. As such, they typically make great choices for families and/or adventurers, allowing you to transport all you’ll need for a weekend away. Another typical feature is the visibility, light and sense of airiness within the cabin that comes from the rear windows extending all the way to the boot.

Hatch

Hatchbacks and liftbacks are known for their rear, hatch-style door that opens upwards. They utilise a two-box design, where the engine is zoned in one compartment, while the luggage hold and cabin are amalgamated into the other compartment. While sometimes short on power and internal space, these small vehicles weigh far less than most other vehicles on the market, giving them a zippy feel and making them a great option for inner city driving and parking.

City car

These pint-sized units are built almost specifically for inner city navigation and manoeuvring. They are smaller than hatchbacks by some margin, with the wheels fitted right at the edges of the chassis to maximise turning proficiency. They make for simple cars to park, although don’t expect much in the way of rear leg room nor space to store your cargo.

Spot the Difference?

Did you know that the Renault Koleos is very much a Nissan X-Trail?  Were you also aware that the current BMW 7-Series is the platform for the new Rolls-Royce Dawn?  These days car manufacturers are sharing a lot of the components that go into making a new vehicle.  A lot of the electronic systems and computer chips are shared between makes and models, even engines and an entire body platform.  As the costs of designing and building a complex new car rise, by getting together and pooling money, skills, assets, and sharing the costs of the new build, these are definitely clever ways for manufacturers to reduce their overheads, and the overall cost of designing and building a new vehicle.

Platform sharing between manufacturers and between models is, perhaps, more common than you may have thought; and particularly now more than ever.  In some cases, the similarities between a particular car, truck, or ute and its platform-twin are obvious.  However, at other times it’s not so easy to detect the resemblance.

A car’s platform is the base (including body shell, floor, and even some of the chassis and engine parts) on which it is built.  Not only can these components be common to more than one manufacturer, but they can also be shared between models in a manufacturer’s line-up.  The initial platform design and its production or engineering works can be shared across a number of different models.  Kia and Hyundai are some of the best brands at doing this sort of thing, and so too is VW.

Sharing componentry between different manufacturers/brands has to be built on an existing good business relationship.  So, when two or more automotive manufacturers with a good relationship have shared the same desire to save money, they can operate together and agree to share development costs and also essentially sell the same cars but under different badges.  Renault and Nissan are great examples of this.  Some of the most talked about illustrations of this occurring recently will have been the Toyota GT86 and the Subaru BRZ, which are essentially the same cars tarted up slightly differently.  Also, the Toyota Corolla station wagon and the Suzuki Swace (a less known model here in Australia) are exactly the same car.  Another illustration would be the awesome new Toyota Supra and BMW Z4 cars.  Also, Volvo has platformed shared quite frequently over the years.  The Global C-car Platform from Ford saw the Volvo S40 and V40 share much with the Ford Focus and Mazda 3.  Well known Hyundai and Kia have utilized several duplications of platforms for their small automobile line-up since 1997.

Having a shared engineering platform, where manufacturers build a basic foundation that can be used across many of its own models is an advantage.  The Volkswagen Group (VW), and the brands it owns, (Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat and Skoda) are masters of this craft.  VW has a common practice where they will build a smaller number of platforms, but the benefits come when they will then re-purpose these platforms across their own different brands.  When VW designed and built the MQB (Modularer Querbaukasten) platform, it was shared across the Audi A3, Skoda Octavia, and Seat Leon.  Also, one of its SUV platforms is shared and utilized by the Audi Q7 and Q8, the Bentley Bentayga, the Lamborghini Urus, and Porsche’s Cayenne.

BMW’s 7-Series is the platform for the immensely luxurious and expensive Rolls Royce Dawn.  The new 7-Series is luxurious and sleek in its own right, but it is also much, much cheaper to buy – comparatively.

Some other new vehicles that are currently sharing platforms:

Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Camaro

VW Polo and Skoda Scala

Mercedes Benz GLE and Jeep Grand Cherokee

Renault Koleos and Nissan X-Trail

Fiat 500 X and Jeep Renegade

New Cars, New Year.

Happy New Year to you all!  2023 sees some brand new cars coming into view, and we’re set to observe a considerable increase in the number of EVs sold on our shores.  Here’s a brief look at some of the exciting cars and SUVs you can get your hands on in the near future!

Alfa Romeo Tonale

Here’s the first of the Alfas that take the special brand into EV mode.  The Alfa Romeo Tonale Hybrid kicks it off with its hybrid engine offering the new 48-volt hybrid propulsion system.  You’d expect an Alfa to be sporty, and the nicely designed compact SUV delivers on this front.  Comfortable interiors and decent technology make this a good way of upgrading into 2023.

BMW iX1

The smallest X model from BMW comes in as the X1, and the iX1 is the EV model with a battery range up over 400 km.  Nicely laid out interiors, an athletic driving style (typical Beemer), and a good dollop of performance make this a great new compact SUV.

BYD Atto 3

The BYD Atto 3 is a new kid on the block for Australia.  Being an electric medium-sized SUV with a decent range makes this an efficient EV for the new year.  The Atto 3 also offers a comfy interior and plenty of the latest technology and safety features.

CUPRA Born

CUPRA cars are exciting.  They have plenty of performance and are generally a well-priced product with high-end features.  This new model called the CUPRA Born is an EV with a handsome range of beyond 500 km.  The CUPRA Born is an exciting car to look at, and it comes with advanced technology and great connectivity.

Ford E-Transit

Ford’s lovable Transit has a new ticker with the latest vans now offering electric power.  This is a brand new, full-size, pure-electric E-Transit that features a 68 kWh battery and a driving range of up to 317 km.  Ford say that it is possible to fast-charge the E-Transit from 15% to 80% in a bit over 30 minutes.

GWM Tank 300

One of the best vehicles to come out of 2023 will be the impressive looking GWM Tank 300.  Doesn’t it make a statement!  The Tank is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol-electric hybrid system, and the internal-combustion engine offers a juicy 180 kW.  Nappa leather, all the tech, and very handy off-road makes this a hugely appealing.

Lexus RX

Toyota has their luxury Lexus brand offering their latest RX.  If you’re wanting a new hybrid, these are some of the best ones out there.  Toyota make a great hybrid powertrain with smooth performance and impressive efficiency.  The RX interior sees an updated luxury interior design with ever-impressive build quality.  The RX is roomy too and very comfortable.

Maserati Grecale

Maserati is becoming ever more affordable.  That’s a great thing because they make great cars.  The new Maserati Grecale is a front-engine, medium-sized luxury SUV that comes with the promise of plenty of performance.  Three engines are available: two 2.0-litre petrol motors and a 3.0-litre V6 petrol.  Generous on the equipment levels, the Grecale will be rewarding to drive.

MG4

MG offers the new MG4 hatchback this year.  It is an affordable electric hatchback that has been packed full of innovation, style, technology, and an impressive 440 km driving range.

Nissan X-Trail E-Power Hybrid

Nice to look at, and equally at home off-road as it is on, the Nissan X-Trail E-Power Hybrid SUV is very comfortable and very well-equipped.  Rear cargo capacity in the 5 seat version of this awesome SUV is 575 litres (super handy for a family).  A 7-seat option is also available.  The entry point model is a mild hybrid version and uses a 1.5-litre petrol most of the time.  The other powerplant uses the same 1.5-liter ICE, but it doesn’t connect to the wheels directly.  Instead, it becomes the electrical generator of the system that works in unison with a small battery operating as a buffer.  The wheels are fed power via electric motors.

Renault Kangoo

Renault’s new Kangoo definitely can do, especially with its brand new E-Tech EV versions becoming available for the Australian market.  This will be Australia’s cheapest electric van.  The E-Tech has a 90 kW/245 Nm electric motor that drives the front wheels via a single-speed transmission.  You should easily run about town for well over 250 km before needing to recharge.

Keep your eyes open for these new models travelling our roads and on showroom floors across Australia.  Also keep your ears open via Private Fleet, where we’ll keep you up to date with what other new models are coming our way shortly.  All the best for 2023!