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Today the hatchback is a rule rather than an exception, the classic two-box, three- or five-door style epitomised by mass-market family-car staples such as the VW Golf and Ford Focus. We tend to think of the hatchback as a phenomenon of the '70s, but it was, in fact, an idea that emerged in the '50s - and which, by the '60s, had become mainstream.
The genre was embraced most wholeheartedly by Europeans, and the French in particular - Renault with its 4, 5 and 16 models and Simca with the now almost totally forgotten but very capable 1100 which, for many years, was one of Europe's best-sellers. The concept of a large third (or fifth) door combined with folding rear seats gave a new dimension of practicality, liberating cubic inches that turned your family saloon into a useful small estate: a dual-purpose car for an increasingly suburban existence.
Hatchbacks were not just for everyday suburban motorists, however: third-door designs are also associated with glamorous international cars such as Jensens, Aston Martins and the mould-breaking 'sports estate', the Scimitar GTE.
In Britain, after a promising start (Austin A40, Maxi) we remained suspicious of hatches on humdrum cars until the late '70s, thus limiting their appeal abroad. Wouldn't the Allegro and Princess have been more saleable with a hatch? Well OK, maybe not...
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