Hatchback

Mazda3

Hyundai Accent

A hatchback is a car with a hatch-type rear door that opens upwards^{[1][2][3][4][5]} and often a shared volume for the passenger and cargo areas.

When the body style of a car is described as a hatchback, typically it is referring to a utilitarian small car; however hatchback doors are also used on several sports cars, SUVs and large luxury cars. The modern form of the hatchback body style was developed through the 1960s and rose in popularity through the 1970s.

Characteristics

Comparison of a hatchback with a station wagon from the same model range.

The distinguishing feature of a hatchback is a hatch-type rear door that opens upwards^[6] and is hinged at roof level (as opposed to the trunk lid of a sedan, which is hinged below the rear window). Most hatchbacks use a two-box design body style,^[7][8] where the cargo area (trunk/boot) and passenger areas are a single volume. The rear seats can often be folded down to increase the available cargo area.^[9] Hatchbacks may have a removable rigid parcel shelf,^[10] or flexible roll-up tonneau cover to cover the cargo space behind the rear seats.

When describing the body style, the hatch is often counted as a door, therefore a hatchback with two passenger doors is called a three-door and a hatchback with four passenger doors is called a five-door.

Station wagons and hatchbacks have in common a two-box design configuration, a shared interior volume for passengers and cargo^[6][11] and a rear door (often called a tailgate in the case of a wagon) that is hinged at roof level.^[12][13] A wagon typically differs from a hatchback by being longer (therefore more likely to have a D-pillar). Other potential differences of a station wagon include:

• steeper rake at the rear (ie the rear door is more vertical)^[6][10][14]
• a third row of seats
• rear suspension designed for increased load capacity or to minimize intrusion into the cargo area^[10]
• the tailgate is more likely to be a multi-part design or extend all the way down to the bumper

Liftback

1986 Toyota Celica with liftback

Liftback is a marketing term for a hatchback where the rear cargo door is more horizontal than a typical hatchback and the door is lifted up to open.^[11]

History

1938 Citroën Traction Avant

1951 Kaiser-Frazer Vagabond

1966 Renault 4

1974 Simca 1100

The first production hatchback was released by Citroën in 1938: the Citroën 11CV Commerciale.^[15] The tailgate has two pieces, a top section hinged from roof level and a bottom section hinged from below.^[16] When production of the Commerciale resumed after World War II, the tailgate became a one-piece design which was hinged from roof level, as per the design used on most hatchbacks since.^[17]

In 1949, Kaiser-Frazer introduced the Vagabond and Traveler hatchbacks. These models were styled much like a typical 1940s sedan; however, they included a two-piece tailgate as per the first Citroen 11CV Commerciale.^[18] The Vagabond and Traveler models also had folding rear seats, and a shared volume for the passengers and cargo.^[19] The design was neither fully a sedan nor a station wagon, but the folding rear seat provided for a large, 8-foot (2.4 m) long interior cargo area.^[20] These Kaiser-Frazer models have been described as "America’s First Hatchback".^[21]

In 1953, Aston Martin marketed the DB2 with a top-hinged rear tailgate, manufacturing 700 examples. Its successor, the 1958 DB Mark III, also offered a folding rear seat. The 1954 AC Aceca and later Aceca-Bristol from AC Cars had a similar hatch tailgate, though only 320 were built.

The British Motor Corporation launched a 'Countryman' version of the Austin A40 Farina compact car in 1959, which incorporated a horizontal-split two-piece tailgate and a more vertical rear panel in comparison to the standard saloon version. This was the first smaller car to have a hatchback; therefore, it is similar to the modern format of the hatchback, aside from its two-piece tailgate.

In 1961, Renault introduced the Renault 4, the first mass-production hatchback.^[22][23] During its production run the R4 was called a small station wagon, even after the term hatchback appeared around 1970. The Renault 4 continued in production in Europe until 1986 (and through 1992 in Argentina) with over eight million cars built.

In 1965 MG had Pininfarina modify the MGB roadster MGB-GT into a hatchback design, becoming the first volume-production sports car with this type of body.

In 1967, the Simca 1100 was the first hatchback to use a transverse engine layout,^[24] a layout which is used by the vast majority of modern hatchbacks.

Worldwide

Europe

1981 Volkswagen Golf

Increasing demand for compact hatchbacks in Europe during the 1970s led to the release of models such as the Austin Maxi, Austin Ambassador, Austin Maestro, Fiat 127 and Renault 5. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of superminins and compact cars had been updated or replaced with hatchback models.

In 1973, the Volkswagen Golf was introduced.^[25] The Golf is the third highest selling car model of all time.^[26]

In the 2010s, hatchbacks became available on more large luxury cars, such as the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, Porsche Panamera and Audi A7.

In the past few years, 3-door hatchbacks have seen a fall in popularity, compared with 5-door models. This has led to many models no longer being offered in 3-door body styles, for example the Audi A3 and Renault Clio.

North America

1972 AMC Gremlin

1971 Ford Pinto Runabout

1973 Chevrolet Vega

In 1970, American Motors Corporation (AMC) released the first North American subcompact car since the 1953-1961 Nash Metropolitan, the AMC Gremlin.^[27] Although the Gremlin has the appearance of a hatchback, it is technically a Kammback coupe instead,^[28] since it is only the rear window that opens.^[29] The Gremlin was based on the AMC Hornet, but its abrupt hatchback rear end cut the car's overall length from 179 to 161 inches (4,500 to 4,100 mm).

AMC added a hatchback version to its larger compact-sized Hornet line for the 1973 model year.^[30] The design and fold-down rear seat more than doubled cargo space and the Hornet was claimed to be the "first compact hatchback" manufactured by U.S. automaker.^[31]

General Motors' first hatchback model was the Chevrolet Vega, introduced in September 1970. Over a million Vega hatchbacks were produced for the 1971–1977 model years accounting for about half of the Vega's total production.^[32] The Vega hatchback was also rebadged and sold as the 1973–1977 Pontiac Astre, 1978 Chevrolet Monza S, 1795–1980 Buick Skyhawk, 1975–1980 Oldsmobile Starfire and 1977–1980 Pontiac Sunbird.

In 1974, the larger Chevrolet Nova became available in a hatchback body style. The Nova hatchback was also rebadged as the Chevrolet Concours, Pontiac Ventura, Pontiac Phoenix, Oldsmobile Omega, Buick Apollo and Buick Skylark. In 1980, General Motors released its first front-wheel drive hatchback models, the Chevrolet Citation and Pontiac Phoenix.

Ford Motor Company's first hatchback was the Ford Pinto Runabout, introduced in 1971. From 1974, the Pinto was also rebadged and sold as the Mercury Bobcat. The 1974-1978 Ford Mustang II offered a hatchback Mustang for the first time.

Chrysler Corporation's first hatchbacks (and first front-wheel drive cars) were the 1978 Dodge Omni / Plymouth Horizon models, which were based on the French Simca-Talbot Horizon.^[33] These were followed by the 3-door hatchback Dodge Omni 024 / Plymouth Horizon TC3 which were later renamed Dodge Charger and Plymouth Turismo.

Japan

1978-1979 Honda Civic

The first Japanese hatchbacks were the 1972 Honda Civic, Nissan Sunny and Nissan Cherry. The Civic and Cherry had front-wheel drive powertrains, which later became the common configuration for a hatchback. Along with the Honda Civic, other long-running Japanese hatchback models are the Nissan Pulsar, Toyota Corolla and Suzuki Swift.

Almost all Japanese Kei cars ("city cars") use a hatchback bodystyle, to maximise cargo capacity given the overall vehicle size is limited by Kei car regulations. Kei cars include the Mitsubishi Minica, Honda Life, Suzuki Fronte, Subaru Vivio, and Daihatsu Mira.

USSR

Lada Samara 1500

The first Soviet hatchback was the rear-wheel drive IZh 2125 Kombi, which entered production in 1973. This was followed only in the 1980s by the front-wheel drive Lada Samara in 1984, the Moskvitch 2141/Aleko in 1986 and ZAZ Tavria in 1987.

India

Maruti 800 hatchback in India

Hatchbacks are the highest selling car body style in India.^[35] The Maruti 800 sold over 2.5 million units since its launch in 1983.^[36] Since 2004, Maruti 800 has been overtaken by Maruti Alto as the car with highest annual sales. In March 2009, Tata Motors launched the Nano hatchback, the least expensive road car in the world.^[37]

Examples

See Hatchbacks category.

See also

• Hot hatch
• List of car body styles
• Shooting brake

References

External links

• The dictionary definition of hatchback at Wiktionary
• Media related to Hatchbacks at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Liftbacks at Wikimedia Commons