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What's a coupe vs. a sedan?

Maetryx

Maetryx

Diamond Member
I was asking my friend this last night and he didn't know either. I've heard these terms all my life but I don't know what they mean. And dictionary.com didn't seem to make any sense.
 
That's it? That sure doesn't match dictionary.com. They said a sedan could be either 2 or 4 door. I've seen VW bugs refered to as a VW sedan on paperwork.

1) A closed automobile having two or four doors and a front and rear seat.
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I think I see the difference now. If it has a back seat, regardless of number of doors, its a sedan. If it lacks a back seat, it's a coupe.

Can anyone confirm?
 
I think it's up to the manuf. to decide, but, in general coupe=2door, sedan=4door. But there is no law saying that a manuf can't call a 2 door car a sedan. And what about the saturns with those suicide doors that can only be opened (I think) when the front door is opened? Are they coupes or sedans?
 
Originally posted by: Maetryx
I think I see the difference now. If it has a back seat, regardless of number of doors, its a sedan. If it lacks a back seat, it's a coupe.

Can anyone confirm?
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What about BMW M3, it is described as a coupe and has two doors, but back seats

 
cou·pé Pronunciation Key (k-p)
n.
A closed four-wheel carriage with two seats inside and one outside.
also coupe (kp) A closed two-door automobile.

se·dan Pronunciation Key (s-dn)
n.
A closed automobile having two or four doors and a front and rear seat.
A portable enclosed chair for one person, having poles in the front and rear and carried by two other people. Also called sedan chair.

It is VERY rare to see a 2 door sedan. If that is the case, it goes by the number of windows which can be rolled down.

link
 
Originally posted by: Maetryx
I think I see the difference now. If it has a back seat, regardless of number of doors, its a sedan. If it lacks a back seat, it's a coupe.

Can anyone confirm?
Click to expand...

Not correct, many coupes have a back seat.

In fact MOST common (ie not exotic/very high performance) coupes have four seats.

Many two seaters fall into the roadster category (two door/two seat/removable hardtop).

Viper GTS
 
Originally posted by: Maetryx
I think I see the difference now. If it has a back seat, regardless of number of doors, its a sedan. If it lacks a back seat, it's a coupe.

Can anyone confirm?
Click to expand...

Not true. For example, a Honda Civic 2door is considered/called a coupe and has a back seat. Same with Dodge Neon's (at one point anyway) 2door = coupe, 4door = sedan. Otherwise they are nearly the same car.


 
I think what a sedan is is a body style that has a trunk (not a hatchback kind of trunk) and coupes are a type of sedan that only has 2 doors.
 
Sedan: 4-door with normal luggage compartment
Hatchback: 2 or 4-door (also referred as 3 or 5-door) with luggage compartment that opens in to the car (you know what I'm talking about. Just think of VW Golf)
Coupe: 2-door with normal luggage compartment.

For example:

4-door VW Golf: A Hatchback
4-door VW Jetta: A Sedan
2-door VW Jetta (if such thing existed): A Coupe
 
Originally posted by: Doggiedog
I think what a sedan is is a body style that has a trunk (not a hatchback kind of trunk) and coupes are a type of sedan that only has 2 doors.
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That's the closest answer for what is a truly ambiguous term. In general, the manufacturer calls a 4 door a sedan and a 2 door a coupe.

There's no law, no definition.

It's almost as pointless as sunroof vs. moonroof.
 
Originally posted by: Garfang
Originally posted by: Doggiedog
I think what a sedan is is a body style that has a trunk (not a hatchback kind of trunk) and coupes are a type of sedan that only has 2 doors.
Click to expand...

That's the closest answer for what is a truly ambiguous term. In general, the manufacturer calls a 4 door a sedan and a 2 door a coupe.

There's no law, no definition.

It's almost as pointless as sunroof vs. moonroof.
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Actually, there is a difference in sun/moon roof

A sunroof has a removeable glass panel or one that pops up
in the rear. It has no cover or shade inside.

A moonroof has a glass panel that usually drops down a bit
and slides back into the top. It has an inside cover or shade.
 
What about the sunroof that is solid metal with a hand crank that is called a "moonroof" in the manual? Or the glass moonroof that's power operated with a sliding sun shade that gets called a "sunroof" by the manufacturer?

It's utterly pointless to give one a different definition from the other.
 
Originally posted by: Garfang
What about the sunroof that is solid metal with a hand crank that is called a "moonroof" in the manual? Or the glass moonroof that's power operated with a sliding sun shade that gets called a "sunroof" by the manufacturer?

It's utterly pointless to give one a different definition from the other.
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originally there was a definition is all i am saying 🙂
 
perhaps, im just reitterating what wiz said.

but moonroof is when the glass part slides inside the car roof.
sunroof is when the glass part either pops up or slides on top of car's roof.

so standing eye level with the roof of the car... you shouldn't be able to notice whether moonroof is open or not... but you should with sunroof.

maxima has moonroof.
integra has sunroof.
 
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