Saloon car
Saloon car /suh-loon kar/ noun (countable)
A saloon car is a type of passenger car with a "three-box" body style, featuring separate compartments for the engine, the passengers, and the luggage. This is the quintessential "proper" car, the automotive equivalent of a three-piece suit. For generations of Britons, the saloon was the default choice, a symbol of respectability and solid, middle-class values. Its defining feature is a boot that is a completely separate, sealed-off box, a design which lends an air of formality while making it infuriatingly difficult to transport a modest piece of flat-pack furniture. It was the backbone of the British motor industry, the shape of everything from a humble Ford Cortina to a mighty Jaguar.
The Full Story of the Saloon Car
For most of the post-war era, the British motor industry was built on the saloon. The "three-box" design, with its distinct bonnet, cabin, and boot, was seen as the only correct and proper way to shape a motor car. It projected a sense of solidity and seriousness that the British public craved. An estate car was for a tradesman or a man with an inconveniently large dog, while the hatchback was a strange and slightly suspect continental fad. The saloon was the transport of the respectable majority.
This thinking defined the output of the entire industry. At the affordable end, Ford built a dynasty on the saloon. The Cortina was not merely a car; it was a cultural landmark, the default company car and family chariot for millions. Its relentlessly conventional three-box shape was the secret to its success; it was everything the average buyer expected a car to be, and nothing more. Its great rival, the Vauxhall Cavalier, followed the exact same formula. The sprawling empire of British Leyland and its predecessors offered a saloon for every social stratum, from the little Morris Minor that put the nation on wheels, to the solid Austin Cambridge for the bank clerk, and the big, stately Rover P5 for the government minister.
While the mainstream focused on solid respectability, British engineers also perfected the art of the sporting saloon. Jaguar's Sir William Lyons created the definitive example with the MkII, a car that perfectly blended "grace, space, and pace." It was a compact saloon with the heart of a sports car, and its peerless combination of performance and style made it the favoured transport of racing drivers and bank robbers alike. Later, the Triumph Dolomite Sprint would offer similar thrills in a smaller package, proving that a sensible four-door car did not have to be dull.
The saloon's reign, however, was built on a fundamental flaw: its boot. While often large, the small, letterbox opening made it useless for carrying bulky objects. The hatchback, championed in Europe, offered a far more intelligent solution with its huge, top-hinged tailgate and folding rear seats. The British industry, particularly the conservative management at British Leyland, was slow to react, viewing the hatchback as a bit common. They continued to churn out new saloons long after the public's needs had started to change. Ford finally forced the issue when it replaced the beloved Cortina with the hatchback Sierra in 1982, a move initially met with horror by conservative fleet managers. It was the beginning of the end. Today, the saloon is all but extinct in the British family market, almost entirely wiped out by the superior practicality of the hatchback and the SUV.
For The Record
What is the "three-box" design?
It's a way of describing the profile of a saloon car. The first "box" is the engine bay, the second, central "box" is the passenger cabin, and the third "box" is the boot. This is distinct from a "two-box" hatchback or estate, where the passenger and luggage areas are combined into a single box.
Why was a saloon considered more prestigious than a hatchback?
It was purely a matter of tradition and social perception. The separate, secure boot of a saloon was seen as more formal and upmarket. A hatchback, with its large glass window into the luggage area, was initially viewed as being more like a van, and therefore more utilitarian and working-class.
Is a saloon more aerodynamic than a hatchback?
Often, yes. The long, sloping rear of a traditional saloon, with its sharp cutoff at the boot lid, can be more aerodynamically efficient than the chopped-off, vertical tail of many hatchbacks. This is why many modern electric cars, which need maximum efficiency, are returning to a saloon or "fastback" shape.
What was the definitive British saloon?
For the mass market, it has to be the Ford Cortina. It was the best-selling car in Britain for years and perfectly captured the aspirations of middle-class life. For the sporting saloon, the Jaguar MkII is the undisputed icon.
Do Americans call them saloons?
No. In the United States and Canada, the saloon body style is known as a "sedan."