Once upon a time ... the two-door saloon
10/28/2024
I came across this when I read the report on the new electric Renault 5. It will be delivered with four side doors, although it imitates the design of the original R5, which was initially only available with two side doors. But a sedan with only two doors on the left and right is almost impossible to sell today, I was told.
Oops, I hadn't noticed that before. Sure, today's SUVs and large saloons all have two doors on each side, but are there really no two-door normal cars left, apart from coupés and convertibles?
In any case, the offer is very thin. Opel Astra, BMW 3-series, Audis and even small Mercedes-Benzes have four (or five) doors. Only the Fiat 500e seems to be an exception, perhaps also the upcoming electric Renault Twingo.
It used to be very different, the BMW E21 was only available with two doors, the Opel models were usually available with two or four side doors, the Beetle was only available with two doors anyway, the Golf with either two or four side doors. Even the Passat was once available with two doors. Tempi passati. The question of whether you want to pay a few hundred euros or francs for two additional doors (and slightly reduced body stability) no longer needs to be asked today. And yet two-door saloons looked quite good ...
