How can you tell a sports car from a sport utility vehicle?
Cars define the scene on urban streets. The number of cars registered in Korea has climbed above 15 million and vehicles of many colors turn the roads into moving vibrant landscapes. With car models becoming ever-more diverse, the names for the different types of cars have evolved. Many people have heard about sedans and sport utility vehicles, but minivans, convertibles, coupes and hatchbacks are less familiar. It can be confusing. So, what types of cars can we expect to find in Korea?Cars can be categorized by their function and form.
1. Sedan
Sedans account for the biggest volume in the automotive market, and competition among carmakers is the fiercest in this segment. A sedan has three boxes, or compartments, for three different uses: the engine area, the interior for passengers and the trunk for luggage. Examples of popular sedans today are Hyundai’s Sonata and Grandeur and the BMW 5 series. Some say the sedan is named after Sedan, a town in France, where the first sedan chair, a covered litter with a passenger seat, was made during the medieval period. The first sedan, then called a saloon, was made in Britain.
2. SUV
SUV stands for sport utility vehicle, which consists of two boxes. It has a taller body and the trunk is connected to the interior space. Its height allows drivers a panoramic view; in the United States, women are known to prefer SUVs. Until the late 1990s, the term “recreational vehicle” was used more frequently than SUV. The term SUV soon replaced RV, which came to have more sub-categories such as campers and motorhomes.
3. Open car
Open cars have many different nicknames: cabriolet, convertible and roadster. The term convertible comes from the car’s roof, which can retract or fold. The term cabriolet is widely used in Europe. A car roof made of canvas or vinyl is called a “soft top” while a metal roof is known as a “hard top.”
Roadsters usually seat two people, the body style of sports cars.
An indispensable part of open cars is the safety equipment behind the wheel. One gadget is a high-strength steel tube called a rollover bar that pops up instantly when the car overturns in an accident. It can widen the interior space to prevent injuries or brain damage to the driver. However, this is only available in foreign-made cars.
4. Coupe
A coupe originally meant a sedan with two seats. Nowadays, only sedans with two doors are called coupes, even with four to five seats. Coupes, with their streamlined roofs, have reduced air resistance. For this reason, many coupes are used as sports cars. Mercedes-Benz launched sales of its four-door coupe, the CLS, in 2003. That four-door coupe was the world’s first.
5. Hatchback
Hatchback models have a hatch or tailgate in the back. Hatchbacks are especially popular in Europe for their practicality. Most hatchbacks have five doors. The Korean models include Kia’s Cerato and Peugeot 307.
6. Wagon
Wagons refer to multi-purpose cars that can carry people and luggage in the same interior. They are similar to SUVs but have a lower body stature, making them look like sedans although they have more luggage space. Wagons are not very popular in Korea although European and Japanese drivers love them for their practical features. Among import models here are Saab 9-3 sports combi and Volvo XC-70. Recently, GM Daewoo, Korea’s third-largest automaker, unveiled a wagon-style compact under the brand name Lacetti. It is the first wagon model made by a Korean carmaker in almost a decade.
7. CUV
CUV stands for crossover utility vehicle. The model combines the merits of sedans, SUVs, coupes and wagons. Among imports, we can see here Ford’s PT Cruisers and Pacifica, the Peugeot 307SW, and the Infiniti FX series by Nissan. An example of a Korean CUV is Kia’s Carens II.
8. SUT
SUT is a sport utility truck, mixing features of an SUV and a small pickup truck. SUTs have a wide, uncovered cargo space. Musso Sports Actyon Sports from Ssangyong are examples. Ford is scheduled to bring into Korea an American-style SUT called Sport Trac within the first half of 2007.
9. MAV
MAV is an acronym for multi-activity vehicle, which is one of the newest car terms. MAVs have various features borrowed from sedans, SUVs and hatchbacks.
Vehicles can also be categorized by engine displacement, size and price. Different countries have different standards. South Korea uses engine displacement as its criterion. Minicars have an engine displacement of less than 0.8 liters; small cars less than 1.5 liters; midsize cars less than 2 liters and large cars over 2 liters. In Korea, most cars have three big categories. Those with engine displacements of 1.6 liters are referred to as midsize vehicles, while cars with 3-liter engine displacement are called compact large vehicles. Cars with engines larger than 3 liters are simply larger vehicles. SUVs are mostly categorized according to the number of people they can seat ― five and seven. Minivans have two categories: seven seaters and nine-to-11 seaters.
By Seo Ji-eun(Staff Writer)/ Kim Seung-hyun(JoongAng Ilbo) [spring@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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