Liftback

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Liftback

A liftback is a car body style

Car body style

Automobile can come in a large variety of different body styles. Some are still in production, while others are of historical interest only. These styles are largely independent of a car classification in terms of price, size and intended broad market; the same car model might be available in multiple body styles ....
in which the cargo space (boot) is accessed through a tailgate

Tailgate

Tailgate is an American English word denoting the door or 'gate' at the back of a station wagon, pickup truck, SUV or other similar type of vehicle that is hinged at the bottom and can be opened for the convenience in loading cargo into the rear of the vehicle....
that extends up to the higher end of the C-pillar and includes the rear window. Liftbacks have either fastback

Fastback

A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coup?s as well as four-door sedan s....
-like rear ends, which are significantly sloped compared to more vertical hatchback

Hatchback

Hatchback is a term designating an automobile design, containing a passenger cabin with an integrated cargo space, accessed from behind the vehicle by a single, top-hinged tailgate or large flip-up window....
s, or are notchback

Notchback

Notchback is a form of car body style; in different parts of the world the precise definition varies. The term is common in the United States where it refers to the typical "3-box" design of sedan s....
-shaped.

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Encyclopedia

A liftback is a car body style

Car body style

Tailgate

Fastback

Hatchback

Notchback

Ford Mondeo

The Ford Mondeo is a large family car sold by the Ford Motor Company in various markets throughout the world. The name "Mondeo" derives from the Latin word mundus, meaning "world"....
, while the Daihatsu Applause

Daihatsu Applause

The Daihatsu Applause was a compact car manufactured by the Japanese automaker Daihatsu from 1989 to 2000. It is most notable for its unusual body style, which, despite appearing to be a 4-door sedan , is in fact a 5-door liftback with a notchback-shaped 412-litre trunk and a tailgate....
is a prominent "notchback-shaped" liftback.

The term "liftback" was popularized and perhaps even created by automobile manufacturers marketing when automotive body styles evolved and new models, whose trunk cover would open along with the windshield, were introduced. This would not only enhance practicality compared to sedans, but also allow for better aerodynamic performance (reduced drag coefficient

Drag coefficient

The drag coefficient is a dimensionless quantity which is used to quantify the drag or resistance of an object in a fluid environment such as air or water....
) compared to notchbacks. To emphasize this, the name "liftback" was applied.

Although first liftbacks, like the Toyota Corolla E-55, were mostly 3-doors, the vast majority of current liftbacks are 5-doors. Rarely, automakers introduce a 3-door version of the 5-door liftback, usually labeling it as a coupe

Coupé

A coup? or coupe is a closed car body style, the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time. Coup?s are often hardtopped sports cars or sporty variants of sedan body styles, with doors commonly reduced from 4 to 2, and a Close-coupled sedan interior offering either two seats or 2+2 seating ....
for marketing reasons. An example of such "liftback-coupe" is the 3-door Saab 900 (NG).

The term "liftback" did not gain such mainstream acceptance as "hatchback" or "sedan". It is almost never used in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, where liftback cars are particularly popular. There, 5-door liftbacks are in general called hatchbacks. Note, however, that a 2-door fastback

Fastback

A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coup?s as well as four-door sedan s....
body style with a boot, which does not include the rear window, will be called a "fastback coupé

Coupé

Sunbeam Rapier

The Sunbeam Car Company Rapier was the first of the "Rootes Audax" range of light cars produced by the Rootes Group. Announced at a motor show in October 1955, it preceded its Hillman Minx and Singer Gazelle counterparts by several months....
).

In many cases, the classification of a particular model as either liftback or hatchback might be disputed. An example of how similar hatchbacks and liftbacks might be is the Toyota Corolla E100, whose 5-door hatchback and liftback bodies looked very much alike (though the liftback had a slightly longer and bigger trunk and less vertical tailgate). It should probably be concluded that a classification of a liftback as a hatchback is not entirely wrong, as the liftback might be regarded a variation of the hatchback body style.

Combi coupé
Combi coupé

Combi coup? is a marketing term used by Sweden manufacturer Saab Automobile for a car body style similar to the liftback.The term is meant to denote that the car is mixture of a "combi" and a coup?, although in terms of interior space it's more of a sedan ....

One of the pioneers of the liftback body style, Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish automaker and currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors. It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden....
, presented their first liftback model in 1974. It was a variation of the Saab 99

Saab 99

The 99 is an automobile produced by Saab Automobile from 1968 to 1984....
, and to distinguish it from already known sedan and sedan-based coupé, Saab coined the term "combi coupé
Combi coupé

Combi coup? is a marketing term used by Sweden manufacturer Saab Automobile for a car body style similar to the liftback.The term is meant to denote that the car is mixture of a "combi" and a coup?, although in terms of interior space it's more of a sedan ....
", which was to emphasize the combination of the practical side of station wagon

Station wagon

A station wagon in American English, Australian English, Canadian English and New Zealand English usage and an estate car in British English usage, is a passenger automobile with a car body style similar to a sedan but with the roofline following the full, sometimes extended rear cargo area, i.e. ending with a more vertical door...
s (known in some European countries as "combis") and the aesthetic appeal of coupés. For the American market, the "combi coupés" were called "wagonbacks". The body style continued through many other Saab models until the 21st century, although Saab dropped the "combi coupé" label at some point, in favor of "hatchback" for 5-doors and "coupé" for 3-doors (both being variations of the same liftback body).

Liftback

Combi coupéCombi coupéCombi coup? is a marketing term used by Sweden manufacturer Saab Automobile for a car body style similar to the liftback.The term is meant to denote that the car is mixture of a "combi" and a coup?, although in terms of interior space it's more of a sedan ....

See also

Combi coupé
Combi coupé

Combi coup? is a marketing term used by Sweden manufacturer Saab Automobile for a car body style similar to the liftback.The term is meant to denote that the car is mixture of a "combi" and a coup?, although in terms of interior space it's more of a sedan ....