Why aren't liftbacks more popular?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Liftbacks are basically (more or less) sedan shaped cars, but that have a fully opening hatcback-styled trunk, instead of the standard tiny one on most sedans, so cars like Audi A5 Sportback, BMW 4 Gran Coupe, Skoda Octavia&Superb, VW Arteon, Ford Mondeo,etc.

Liftbacks are not the same as regular hatchbacks (Fiat Panda, VW Up/Polo/Golf, Audi A1, Toyota Aygo,…) and they are not shootingbrakes (ones that look like wagons, but with a curvy back), they all are different categories, though I saw one website that lists 10 “liftbacks” and pretty much all cars are just small hatchbacks…

Most of my favorite cars are sedans like the BMW 3 and 5 series and Audi 4 series, but for whatever reason they only have those tiny trunk openings, so if you want a BMW 3/5 which you can actually use for transporting medium and larger things from time to time, which every family and even single person needs ocassionaly, you have to skip the sedan and buy either a wagon or the weirdly shaped and too long 3&5 Gran Tourers, whose sole purpose is a fully opening trunk. There’s also the option of the BMW 4 Gran Coupe, but the drawback is a tiny headspace for back passengers.

On the other hand an economy brand like Skoda has both the Skoda Octavia (equialent to VW Jetta sold in USA) and the more luxury and larger Superb (Passat’s cheaper brother) that have a normal sedan-like shape, that have normal headspace for back passengers and that have the practicality of a hatchback trunk.

Why is it rocket science to implement this into other, at least entry-level sedans? The american VW Jetta I mentioned, even though it’s literally the same shape and even has same backlights as the liftback Octavia…is not a liftback and instead you just get the tiny trunk opening, even in a car who was already proven succesfull as a liftback.

It’s weird to think that a large premium BMW 5 or Audi A6 can carry less things than a tiny supermini VW Up! with rear seats folded down. If you have a large dog that you need to carry in a transport box to the vet or something, if you buy some small furniture,etc, then you can use a sub 10k$ car, but you can’t use a +40k $ beast that boasts with luxury and cubby spaces. If liftbacks were more popular, there probably wouldn’t even be such a craze for Crossovers, since people would get all the space they want, without having to buy a hatchback or a wagon.

2

So the back hatch would consist of a window, and then an angle, and then a flat metal part where the trunk hatch would normally be? And when you open it up, the window goes up above the roof, and the metal part even higher? That sounds like it could cause all sorts of problems…

3

The question that’s been plaguing car enthusiasts for years.

I love a sport hatch, liftback, wagon and shooting brake configurations. But Americans prefer the SUV/CUV. Not because there is a lack of alternatives but because they want a taller, more off-road-y (looking) vehicle. So that’s what gets imported and built here.

My brother just took delivery of an Audi S5 Sportback sedan. Lovely thing.

4

Good question. My last couple of vehicles have been hatchbacks, not because I need the big opening all the time, but because it’s really handy when I do need it. The downside of my hatchbacks has been decreased rearward visibility. It seems like a sedan-shaped liftback would be a perfect compromise and easy to implement. Another one of those things that you’d think would be really obvious, and therefore commonplace. I suppose people just don’t know what they’re missing.

5

I’m not totally clear on what a liftback is, but is a Honda Crosstour one? If so, I know that car model didn’t sell very well and Honda dropped it. And Toyota had a similar looking vehicle but I can’t remember the name.

6

I just real the Wikipedia article and still don’t understand the difference between a hatchback and a liftback, but I learned that my car is the latter (Toyota Avensis). This type of car seems pretty popular in the UK.

7

I just returned my BMW 430 Grand Coupe last week at the end of the lease. I loved the size of the trunk, it was massive. The drawback was the very small back window that I disliked when I test drove the car, but decided I could overlook it. I got used to it very quickly.

My new car which I’m picking up this week is a standard sedan, a Volvo S60. The two cars feel quite similar to me.

8

I love small, practical cars (chick cars). My CRX was awesome. I once managed to get three bales of straw wedged into my VW GTI. But, alas, I have now joined the mid-size SUV crowd so that I can carry more stuff, more passengers, and I don’t have nearly the same trouble getting into and out of them because I have a bad back and bad knees. Aging sucks. I am regularly grateful for the height of the vehicle and the space in it, but I really wanted another GTI.

9

I’ve never in my life seen a car like in the OP, but the photos I found are pretty awesome. However, as to why aren’t they more popular, the first one I looked at’s page says “starting at $114,000” so…

10

I can’t speak for historical reasons why there haven’t been liftbacks in the U.S., but as @Quicksilver notes, the trend for U.S. automakers (and importers, as well) has been to SUVs/crossovers and trucks, and away from cars, generally, because that’s where auto buyers’ tastes have run (in part because the additional height and mass make them feel safer).

Buick and Lincoln, for two examples, no longer have any cars in their lineups at all, and Ford is now down to the Mustang, having discontinued the Focus in the U.S. for 2020.

11

Can’t say I see the attraction beyond aesthetics. The opening is larger but the space is limited by the sloping hatch. No good for anything boxy. I’d rather go for the station wagon with its greater cubic capacity.

The answer to most car stuff is aesthetics. The trend was for sedans and then for SUVs because they were big and boxy but they are gradually becoming tall rounded sedans, and getting smaller and will end up being sedans again.

And so it goes. What a load of shallow nonsense.

12

Would you count the Tesla Model Y as a liftback? It’s basically a Model 3 with a higher roof line, and a lift gate in place of the trunk. It does have the continuous slope of the roof all the way to the back of the car, but so does the 3, and the 3 is a standard three-box sedan.

As for why there aren’t more? In the US if you need to carry things you buy a pickup or an SUV. If you don’t need to carry things, you buy a pickup or an SUV in case you might need to carry things.

13

Actually, isn’t the Tesla Model 3 a liftback?

14

So if the answer to why they aren’t popular in the US is that SUV’s and pickups are filling that niche, why aren’t pickups and SUV’s more popular in Europe?

15

Here in Denmark, if you think you will need to carry things, you buy a car with a tow hitch, and use a small trailer (own/rented) when the need arises.

16

Possibly because they are less fuel efficient and gas is much cheaper in the US, so it’s less of a consideration?

17

Station wagons are more popular.

18

Probably. Also maybe width of roads and size of parking spaces is different?

Something I’ve wondered is whether those types of vehicles are just inherently less fuel efficient, or is it that they are preferred by the sort of people who don’t care about fuel consumption, so there is no pressure to improve it?

19

I love station wagons, but they are hard to find. I’m driving a Kia Soul now, which is a station wagon pretending to be an SUV and doing a very bad job. But if you think of it as an station wagon standing on its tippytoes, it’s perfect.

20

I looked for one (they’re called estates in the UK) when I bought my last car, but couldn’t find any second hand.

What I don’t understand is why anyone would prefer a sedan/saloon type of car over a hatchback/liftback. The drawback is that it’s harder to get stuff in, what are the benefits?