Product Code Database
The marketing term liftback describes a hatchback car body style with a rear cargo door, where the overall roof line and rear cargo door are sloped more like that of sedans or coupe — as compared to the more vertical rear cargo door of a more utilitarian hatchback or wagon. A liftback may include fold-down rear seats for increased cargo capacity, providing increased cargo flexibility vs. a conventional sedan or coupe.
From the first to the sixth generations Celica, Toyota marketed two body stles as notchback Coupé and Liftback body styles, with the Convertible based on the notchback became available for the third until sixth generations. The high-performance turbocharged all-wheel-drive GT-Four was only built as Liftback. Only the Liftback was offered for the last or seventh generation.
Toyota also marketed the Toyota Corolla Liftback from the third to eight generations. Toyota created two different liftback body shapes for the fourth generation Corolla; the first model with a sloped tailgate was named Coupé, while the second model with a longer roof and slightly more vertical tailgate was named Liftback. The notchback coupé model without a B-pillar was marketed as Hardtop'.
The term was sometimes used for marketing purposes, among others, by Toyota, for example, to distinguish between two 5-door versions of the E90 series Corolla sold in Europe, one of which was a conventional 5-door hatchback with a nearly vertical rear hatch while the other one was a 5-door liftback.
Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz were not part of this trend in the 1990s, as they did not offer their D-segment or as 5-door liftbacks back then. However as some other manufacturers started to retire D-segment liftbacks from their European lineup, starting around 2009 Audi and BMW started to sell liftback versions of some of their vehicles but with their own marketing terms, referring to them as Sportback (Audi) or Gran Turismo (BMW). For instance the Audi A4 and Audi A6 sedans had liftback variants known as the Audi A5 Sportback and Audi A7 Sportback, respectively. Interestingly, the Audi A7 Sportback would give rise to the Audi A7L which was an extended-wheelbase sedan of the former. However BMW's liftback variants of the BMW 5 Series (F10) and BMW 5 Series (G30), sold as the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo (F07) and as the BMW 6 Series (G32), were not successful.
The second-generation Škoda Superb, produced from 2008 until 2015, is a car that functions both as a hatchback and a sedan. It features a Twindoor trunk lid that can be opened using hinges located below the rear glass, or together with the rear glass using hinges at the roof.
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