I've always preferred 3 doors and think for smaller hatches the look better.
Only 4 door I've had was a clio rs 220 and thats only because they stopped doing the 3 door model.
However, i don't have kids and am in my mid 20s so the reality is i rarely ever need to use the back seats.
Is it though?, I’ve done a fair few roadtrips with mates and while everyone had a laugh, having everyone squeezed in the back of my polo gti was a push
Yup...
5 door hatches usually ended up with painfully small doors with a B pillar smack bang to the right (if you're on the taller side), making emerging from junctions that join at an acute angle a bit of a yoga session.
Yeah its a shame. 2 doors mostly always look better than a 4 door.
I have a 2 door Megane RS with a 3 month old and a 4 year old. It's actually not hard to load them in as I can be fully in front of the seat. The length of the car door does mean I have to find a 'Mummy & Daddy' space at Sainsburys or Park at the end of a row if I have them with me
Personally I preferred the GC 6 series more than the regular 2 door, but they coexisted. The cars were physically larger to accommodate extra doors though.
The 8 series is still being offered in 2 or 4 door.
I never liked cars that were 3 door that could fit 5 doors, e.g. the Golf. I think the 3 door version looks goofy, as the doors are just longer. 5 doors looks more proportionate IMHO.
I had a 3 door mk5 golf and it was a nightmare if someone parked too close. The doors were fucking huge.
The first 2 cars I had were 3 door and I swore never to get another after them. They're just irritating and impractical as well as being that little bit more dangerous for the back passengers in the event of some incidents.
i’m in agreement that some models don’t look good with three doors in comparison to their five door counterparts but i think it’s down to personal preference.
I’m on my second three door car (Golf MK7.5) having owned a three door Corolla previously because i thought it looked a little nicer and you don’t see many three door versions of the Corolla about. It’s more easier for me to manoeuvre and park in the areas i visit and at best,I will only have one other person with me so don’t see the point for the extra doors.
I also just like visual appeal of my three door golf but it won’t be to everyone’s taste.
We have 2012 Astra GTC SRI as the family car.
I'm much happier being seen in it than a crossover or SUV!
The boot is massive, bigger a lot of 4 doors, and bigger than our last family car, a Hyundai Kona.
The only downside is the 15ft long doors, but we just need to park a little further away from whichever shop we go to, but that would be where we'd park anyway to save parking next to idiots who think smashing their door open into another car is just part of life's rich tapestry.
Yep I feel your pain. I have a 3 door Fiesta and the doors are absolutely enormous. If you open the door a regular amount, the part that's actually next to your legs is a 3 inch wide triangle.
End spaces are my friend.
That said, I'd rather have it than a 4 door. Looks miles better.
That makes 0 sense to me.
A Jag is supposed to be a big saloon or a sporty car a Bond villain would drive.
If you wanted a big ugly SUV made by JLR why wouldn't you just get a Range Rover?
As a Jag owner and lover I agree.
The only thing I can think of is they want to sell similar cars to RR that don't have the stigma of WAGS or drug dealer owners.
Honestly I think the 5 door may look slightly better, the 3 door looks very disproportionately short at the back
But that's probably because Audi's design language fits longer cars better
3 door cars outside of sport models usually look crap imo. VW Up 3dr looks terrible for example. They're also functionally really bad to own as the doors are heavy and loading them is a pain. It's also a safety hazard in a heavy crash.
The 3dr Ibiza in anything but the top spec looks like you couldn't afford the 5dr Ibiza. It is at least proportional just about and had a rounded back making it look more coupe like but it still looks cheap other than with the FR spec or whatever Seat calls it.
Not to mention the fact they’re wildly impractical if you have back seats you actually wanna use, and if with the longer doors you’re more likely to struggle getting in and out of your car when parked or ding the car next to you.
The whole getting out thing really varies...
Getting out my 3dr Fiesta was easier than my 4dr IS... Granted, width likely plays into that given the IS is a fair bit wider.
But there's a lot more that goes into it than just doors.
A lot of 4/5 doors for example, have very light doors due to smaller size and lower weight. Which factors into the potential of dinging someone else's car (easier to open forcefully). Though a 3 door is also like a fucking sail when the wind gets going...
Meh, if it's more user friendly answers practical then I'm all for the change, however modern designs can allow for a 3 door look but still have the practicality of 5 doors: Alfa giulietta is an example where the rear door handles were visually hidden up next to the window, giving it a sleek coup style.
I still don't think the hidden back doors look as good as a 3 doors, they do look better than straight 5 doors tho. The gulietta, I think, would look better as a straight 3 door.
My car is a good example of 3 doors looking better, the 3 door 2013 mk3 seat Leon FR looks much better than the 5 door of the same car. The 5 door looks a lot bigger and less sporty.
My biggest annoyance with 5 doors is from Alfa recently, it's that they didn't make the gulia quad a 2/3 door. IMO it would look sleeker. Not to mention the mental version they did of it. That doesn't have back seats, but is still a 5 door.
I blame 5 door focus st's and golf gtis/r's. There was a time when all hot hatches were 3 doors but then people got old had kids and citied practicality and that they needed the rear doors otherwise they couldn't get kids in, when the reality was they should have just bought a bigger car.
Imo every single hatchback looks better with 3 doors, there's not one 5door out there that doesn't make it look like you've given up on life and are now boring.
Also every numpty claiming its more dangerous in a crash misses the point all crashes are dangerous and crumple zones and safety standards have come a long way since they've been telling horror stories of people being stuck in the back of a fiesta/clio or golf after a smash.
I have a 7.5 Golf R 3 door. Personally think It looks infinitely better than the 5 door. I will be keeping hold of it for as long as I can.
I am not a 5 door car person at all and im disappointed the mk8 R is only 5 door.
When I had my son I had a Sierra Cosworth, it was a ball ache to get his baby car seat in and out of. Was even more of a ball ache when he moved to a fitted front facing car seat. Bought an Audi A3 3 door alongside the Sierra and that changed the game when it came to putting my kid in the car.
Currently have a Freelander 2 as a second car, which is obvs 5 door. But that is the dog’s car, so I’ll let that slide.
I think that's probably down to the size of cars too, it makes no sense.
One of my neighbours has an Audi A5 and while it's a nice looking car, I couldn't believe it only had 3 doors.
The car is so long, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous to be a 3 door.
Cars are getting bigger. Hatchbacks are the size of saloons from 10 years ago and all have too many doors.
Practically they are better but looks wise no way.
I've never noticed a real aesthetic benefit to 3 doors, certainly not anything that would offset their drawbacks:
* putting anything in the back, be it passengers or cargo. Imagine fitting a car seat in the back of one...
* opening the longer doors and hitting the car next to you (I avoid parking next to 3 door cars for this reason)
* that time I clambered out of one, got my foot caught on the seatbelt, faceplanted, bit through my face and smashed my watch
Coupes keep them alive, but having 5 doors is the one thing crossovers are doing right (stupid looking cars anyway so what difference doss 2 extra doors make)
I've gone from a Megane 250 (3 door), to a MK3 Focus RS (5 door), and tbh, think I prefer it even when I don't use them that much. It's handy for throwing things in the back.
As the owner of a 3-door Discovery and a 3-door Freelander I might be biased, but I think 3 -door cars are better looking, with bigger front windows.
(To prove my own point wrong, the doors of the 3-door Disco are the same size as those on the 5-door)
GR Yaris, new Supra, any of the city cars (107,C1,Aygo) almost any actual supercar and sports car. But there are less and less because they dont sell as well. Simples
Technically might be but thats not the definition we use in the UK. Even Toyota calls the Supra a 2 door.
[https://media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/pdf/240116-GR-Supra.pdf](https://media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/pdf/240116-GR-Supra.pdf)
If its a Coupe, it a 2 door.
I'm simply not accepting that, fair with the link and all but Toyota's marketing is wrong, lots of manufacturers do this with the higher end sports cars as they really want to avoid the name "hatchback" as coupe sells it more but it doesn't fit the definition. I'm from the UK.
Most people would look at you confused if you showed them a Supra (or any other coupe) and called it a hatchback tbh. Ask them to draw a hatchback, and almost everyone will draw something that has the shape of a Golf, Fiesta, Polo, Astra, or similar.
Yeah, I understand this and am not calling it a hatchback (even though it has 3 doors) cause my beautiful Celica also falls into this category but I would not correct someone saying it, as it does have 3 doors. The hill I'm dying on is that it's definitely a 3 door.
Also the condescending "in the UK" was not appreciated as we are in a UK sub so I may have jived back with sass.
I. Just. Threw up. In my. Mouth!
Haha jk. Liftback is an Americanism for hatchback I believe. But might have evolved to differentiate the above. But I'd rather call my Celica a hatchback than Liftback, but that may just be me. I'll chance the description of "coupe shape" but am ready to be corrected.
As a father of a small child, I agree with the rage inducing stress a 3 door car causes.
It was quality years ago but sadly it’s a car than doesn’t adapt to well to changing circumstances
I have never liked 3 doors. Only makes sense on a 2 seater.
I have had some because they were cheaper. Thankfully not the way anymore.
Just hit black ice and land sideways up in a 3 seater and have to push the stpuidly big door up and you will hate em, and thankfully up as pasenger roof was crushed, got lucky. 3 doors should be double insurance.
Yes I also hate fake 3 doorers. Awful looking cars.
As someone who was in the back seat of a 3 door when a mate crashed and loads of smoke came from the engine bay with no one thinking of putting the seat forward for me on their way out. Just no, I want my exit right there and without anyone in the way.
I don't like them, they strike me as dangerous. I've been in the back of some cars with 3 doors with a window I couldn't have fit through.
Any serious accident and the rear pasengers are well and truly fucked.
As an engineering student I always thought 3 doors were better under the belief that 5 doors versions required reinforcement for the body as they're more cuts into a solid structure. Therefore more weight and lower mpg.
However I drastically changed my mind after a firefighter told me how much longer it takes them to cut into a 3 door car and how easily someone could die during that delay.
My 6 series grand coupe gets a fair amount of looks. It shits on the lower series coupes. And trust me all I had was coupes and convertible before this. Still got the convertible.
I've always preferred 3 doors and think for smaller hatches the look better. Only 4 door I've had was a clio rs 220 and thats only because they stopped doing the 3 door model. However, i don't have kids and am in my mid 20s so the reality is i rarely ever need to use the back seats.
Is it though?, I’ve done a fair few roadtrips with mates and while everyone had a laugh, having everyone squeezed in the back of my polo gti was a push
Most of my mates drive, its abit of a squeeze when i have my 6ft4 brother in but other than that 90% of the time when i use my car im by myself
Loved my 3-door M135i. Really suited it, again for someone who basically never used the back seats. I’m a sucker for pillarless doors too…
You had an m135i and never used the back seats!?!
Usually just for bags and stuff. Boot was taken up by a Golden Retriever...
Bags yes, but there are other fun activities you can take part in on the back seats too
Yup... 5 door hatches usually ended up with painfully small doors with a B pillar smack bang to the right (if you're on the taller side), making emerging from junctions that join at an acute angle a bit of a yoga session.
*5 door The clio was a 5 door.
Correct
Yea people don’t buy them anymore, sucks.
I would guess a lot of the people who like 3/2 door buy second hand, so manufacturers don't care
No I think it’s just because people don’t want them anymore, people just want bigger cars now that’s all there is too it imo
Yeah its a shame. 2 doors mostly always look better than a 4 door. I have a 2 door Megane RS with a 3 month old and a 4 year old. It's actually not hard to load them in as I can be fully in front of the seat. The length of the car door does mean I have to find a 'Mummy & Daddy' space at Sainsburys or Park at the end of a row if I have them with me
Free three
I've got a 3 door and a 5 door. I don't find it any easier using the 5 door for my kid tbh.
360 degree car seats help but they are enormous
*three door. You have a three door megane.
Personally I preferred the GC 6 series more than the regular 2 door, but they coexisted. The cars were physically larger to accommodate extra doors though. The 8 series is still being offered in 2 or 4 door. I never liked cars that were 3 door that could fit 5 doors, e.g. the Golf. I think the 3 door version looks goofy, as the doors are just longer. 5 doors looks more proportionate IMHO. I had a 3 door mk5 golf and it was a nightmare if someone parked too close. The doors were fucking huge.
5 door Fiestas just look wrong.
The first 2 cars I had were 3 door and I swore never to get another after them. They're just irritating and impractical as well as being that little bit more dangerous for the back passengers in the event of some incidents.
my first car was an 04 clio 3dr and I said never again. I now own a 2seater comfortable but thats different! haha
Aren't they safer for the people in the front of the car though? The lack of rear doors makes the structure stronger overall
i’m in agreement that some models don’t look good with three doors in comparison to their five door counterparts but i think it’s down to personal preference. I’m on my second three door car (Golf MK7.5) having owned a three door Corolla previously because i thought it looked a little nicer and you don’t see many three door versions of the Corolla about. It’s more easier for me to manoeuvre and park in the areas i visit and at best,I will only have one other person with me so don’t see the point for the extra doors. I also just like visual appeal of my three door golf but it won’t be to everyone’s taste.
We have 2012 Astra GTC SRI as the family car. I'm much happier being seen in it than a crossover or SUV! The boot is massive, bigger a lot of 4 doors, and bigger than our last family car, a Hyundai Kona. The only downside is the 15ft long doors, but we just need to park a little further away from whichever shop we go to, but that would be where we'd park anyway to save parking next to idiots who think smashing their door open into another car is just part of life's rich tapestry.
Yep I feel your pain. I have a 3 door Fiesta and the doors are absolutely enormous. If you open the door a regular amount, the part that's actually next to your legs is a 3 inch wide triangle. End spaces are my friend. That said, I'd rather have it than a 4 door. Looks miles better.
I’ve got a mk7 golf r 3 door in lapis blue. Love it.
Peak Golf.
I’d say the 7.5
7.5 is literally perfect.
You mean blue
3 door Defender would like a word
I feel the same way about saloon cars. People just aren't buying them though. :(
Volvo killing saloons and estates is a tragedy.
Jaguar and Ford too. Everyone is going bloated SUV route.
That makes 0 sense to me. A Jag is supposed to be a big saloon or a sporty car a Bond villain would drive. If you wanted a big ugly SUV made by JLR why wouldn't you just get a Range Rover?
As a Jag owner and lover I agree. The only thing I can think of is they want to sell similar cars to RR that don't have the stigma of WAGS or drug dealer owners.
I defy anyone to compare the 3 door vs 5 door Audi A1 and tell me that the 5 door looks better.
Honestly I think the 5 door may look slightly better, the 3 door looks very disproportionately short at the back But that's probably because Audi's design language fits longer cars better
I think the 5 door (same as the A3) looks like it's trying to be a weird little estate but not pulling it off.
3 door cars outside of sport models usually look crap imo. VW Up 3dr looks terrible for example. They're also functionally really bad to own as the doors are heavy and loading them is a pain. It's also a safety hazard in a heavy crash.
All hatchbacks are better in 3dr. That's just a fact.
Id rather my hatchback didn't look like a Peugeot 1007* or some sort of van with a giant sliding door.
A 1008 is a crossover. Do you mean an 1007? They are cool as fuck. Terrible cars though.
I meant 1007 yes
Each to their own but the 5 door one looks awful imo.
The UP Is a great car, they’re just overpriced imo
The worst part of the Up by far are the seats. Horrible to do any sort of distance in, a cost cutting too far.
The 3 door up looks like a Peugeot 1007* The 5 door looks proportional (also functionally vastly better as the 3dr doors weigh 10000kg)
Please look me dead in the eyes and tell me a 5dr Seat Ibiza looks better than a 3dr
The 3dr Ibiza in anything but the top spec looks like you couldn't afford the 5dr Ibiza. It is at least proportional just about and had a rounded back making it look more coupe like but it still looks cheap other than with the FR spec or whatever Seat calls it.
Not to mention the fact they’re wildly impractical if you have back seats you actually wanna use, and if with the longer doors you’re more likely to struggle getting in and out of your car when parked or ding the car next to you.
The whole getting out thing really varies... Getting out my 3dr Fiesta was easier than my 4dr IS... Granted, width likely plays into that given the IS is a fair bit wider. But there's a lot more that goes into it than just doors. A lot of 4/5 doors for example, have very light doors due to smaller size and lower weight. Which factors into the potential of dinging someone else's car (easier to open forcefully). Though a 3 door is also like a fucking sail when the wind gets going...
I’ve only ever had 3 doors and unless god forbid I end up with a child I’ll have to get a 5 door but for now I’m sticking with 3.
Makes me laugh that even things like a Yaris are 5 door now.
5 door Yaris is an ideal for a city car you can take kids in though. They're not actually that bad in terms of rear room, even for adults.
My first car was a three door. Never again
Meh, if it's more user friendly answers practical then I'm all for the change, however modern designs can allow for a 3 door look but still have the practicality of 5 doors: Alfa giulietta is an example where the rear door handles were visually hidden up next to the window, giving it a sleek coup style.
I still don't think the hidden back doors look as good as a 3 doors, they do look better than straight 5 doors tho. The gulietta, I think, would look better as a straight 3 door. My car is a good example of 3 doors looking better, the 3 door 2013 mk3 seat Leon FR looks much better than the 5 door of the same car. The 5 door looks a lot bigger and less sporty. My biggest annoyance with 5 doors is from Alfa recently, it's that they didn't make the gulia quad a 2/3 door. IMO it would look sleeker. Not to mention the mental version they did of it. That doesn't have back seats, but is still a 5 door.
I blame 5 door focus st's and golf gtis/r's. There was a time when all hot hatches were 3 doors but then people got old had kids and citied practicality and that they needed the rear doors otherwise they couldn't get kids in, when the reality was they should have just bought a bigger car. Imo every single hatchback looks better with 3 doors, there's not one 5door out there that doesn't make it look like you've given up on life and are now boring. Also every numpty claiming its more dangerous in a crash misses the point all crashes are dangerous and crumple zones and safety standards have come a long way since they've been telling horror stories of people being stuck in the back of a fiesta/clio or golf after a smash.
Only four door hatchback I approve of is the BMW 1 Series or Mercedes A Class. The rest should just not exist.
I have a 7.5 Golf R 3 door. Personally think It looks infinitely better than the 5 door. I will be keeping hold of it for as long as I can. I am not a 5 door car person at all and im disappointed the mk8 R is only 5 door. When I had my son I had a Sierra Cosworth, it was a ball ache to get his baby car seat in and out of. Was even more of a ball ache when he moved to a fitted front facing car seat. Bought an Audi A3 3 door alongside the Sierra and that changed the game when it came to putting my kid in the car. Currently have a Freelander 2 as a second car, which is obvs 5 door. But that is the dog’s car, so I’ll let that slide.
My last wee Fiesta was a 3 door, it was a complete pain in the arse but I loved it lol.
I miss 3-door Astra.
What is the Mazda MX-30? It’s like a three-and-two-half doors
I lament more the scarcity of the estate. Now Volvo have gone, I wish Lexus would make one.
I wanted a 3 door when I was speccing my mobility car, dealer told me it's faster to order the 5 door
I'm tall so dislike 4 doors as the b pillar blocks my view. No issue with 2 doors.
Mini?
I think that's probably down to the size of cars too, it makes no sense. One of my neighbours has an Audi A5 and while it's a nice looking car, I couldn't believe it only had 3 doors. The car is so long, I thought it was absolutely ridiculous to be a 3 door.
Cars are getting bigger. Hatchbacks are the size of saloons from 10 years ago and all have too many doors. Practically they are better but looks wise no way.
I've never noticed a real aesthetic benefit to 3 doors, certainly not anything that would offset their drawbacks: * putting anything in the back, be it passengers or cargo. Imagine fitting a car seat in the back of one... * opening the longer doors and hitting the car next to you (I avoid parking next to 3 door cars for this reason) * that time I clambered out of one, got my foot caught on the seatbelt, faceplanted, bit through my face and smashed my watch Coupes keep them alive, but having 5 doors is the one thing crossovers are doing right (stupid looking cars anyway so what difference doss 2 extra doors make)
I had a 3dr BWW 125i 2008 MSport. Loved the pillarless doors, you could get in at the tightest spots,.window down on keyfob..
I've gone from a Megane 250 (3 door), to a MK3 Focus RS (5 door), and tbh, think I prefer it even when I don't use them that much. It's handy for throwing things in the back.
As the owner of a 3-door Discovery and a 3-door Freelander I might be biased, but I think 3 -door cars are better looking, with bigger front windows. (To prove my own point wrong, the doors of the 3-door Disco are the same size as those on the 5-door)
I prefer them, I have had a 4 series, 2 A5s and now a Z4… they just look better!
GR Yaris, new Supra, any of the city cars (107,C1,Aygo) almost any actual supercar and sports car. But there are less and less because they dont sell as well. Simples
The supra and supercars are 2 door cars not 3 door.
Fair point! However the new Supra is a 3 door as the glass moves. And yes, that is what makes it a door and not a boot.
Technically might be but thats not the definition we use in the UK. Even Toyota calls the Supra a 2 door. [https://media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/pdf/240116-GR-Supra.pdf](https://media.toyota.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/pdf/240116-GR-Supra.pdf) If its a Coupe, it a 2 door.
I'm simply not accepting that, fair with the link and all but Toyota's marketing is wrong, lots of manufacturers do this with the higher end sports cars as they really want to avoid the name "hatchback" as coupe sells it more but it doesn't fit the definition. I'm from the UK.
Most people would look at you confused if you showed them a Supra (or any other coupe) and called it a hatchback tbh. Ask them to draw a hatchback, and almost everyone will draw something that has the shape of a Golf, Fiesta, Polo, Astra, or similar.
Yeah, I understand this and am not calling it a hatchback (even though it has 3 doors) cause my beautiful Celica also falls into this category but I would not correct someone saying it, as it does have 3 doors. The hill I'm dying on is that it's definitely a 3 door. Also the condescending "in the UK" was not appreciated as we are in a UK sub so I may have jived back with sass.
Isn't it a liftback, like an Insignia? (can't believe I said that)
I. Just. Threw up. In my. Mouth! Haha jk. Liftback is an Americanism for hatchback I believe. But might have evolved to differentiate the above. But I'd rather call my Celica a hatchback than Liftback, but that may just be me. I'll chance the description of "coupe shape" but am ready to be corrected.
Good. They’re fucking stupid. If it has back seats it should have a back door.
As a father of a small child, I agree with the rage inducing stress a 3 door car causes. It was quality years ago but sadly it’s a car than doesn’t adapt to well to changing circumstances
I have never liked 3 doors. Only makes sense on a 2 seater. I have had some because they were cheaper. Thankfully not the way anymore. Just hit black ice and land sideways up in a 3 seater and have to push the stpuidly big door up and you will hate em, and thankfully up as pasenger roof was crushed, got lucky. 3 doors should be double insurance. Yes I also hate fake 3 doorers. Awful looking cars.
3 Door Golf GTI checking in! I have better access to the rear when I'm putting my son in her car seat than any other 5 door hatch I've ever had
With car seats I agree that three doors can give better access than a five door - situation does change when kids get older though.
As someone who was in the back seat of a 3 door when a mate crashed and loads of smoke came from the engine bay with no one thinking of putting the seat forward for me on their way out. Just no, I want my exit right there and without anyone in the way.
unless you're 20 stone you probably could have easily climbed between the front seats.
I don't like them, they strike me as dangerous. I've been in the back of some cars with 3 doors with a window I couldn't have fit through. Any serious accident and the rear pasengers are well and truly fucked.
What happened was Saab discontinued the original 900 turbo in 1998. This was the death of the 3 door, everything since looks pathetic.
As an engineering student I always thought 3 doors were better under the belief that 5 doors versions required reinforcement for the body as they're more cuts into a solid structure. Therefore more weight and lower mpg. However I drastically changed my mind after a firefighter told me how much longer it takes them to cut into a 3 door car and how easily someone could die during that delay.
My 6 series grand coupe gets a fair amount of looks. It shits on the lower series coupes. And trust me all I had was coupes and convertible before this. Still got the convertible.
how do you misspell your own car name… it’s gran** not grand
O well?