Coupe vs. Sedan - What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between a coupe and a sedan? To most people, the answer is easy: a sedan has four doors, and a coupe has two. After all, that’s how all the car manufacturers have defined them over the years. So is the answer that easy? No, not really. As with most things automotive, there’s unnecessary confusion that has only been brought up recently, as some car makers are trying to differentiate their cars by calling them four-door coupes, along with other seemingly contradicting names.

But the term “four-door coupe,” while it may be stupid, is actually a legitimate claim. So is “two-door sedan,” no matter how much you or I wouldn’t want to own one. So in a world of two-door coupes and four-door sedans, where do these strange descriptions fit in, and to what cars do they apply?

What is a Coupe?

A coupe is generally thought of as a closed-body style, 2-door car, often sporty in nature. A coupe generally has either 2 seats, or 4 seats placed in a 2+2 configuration, meaning that there are only 2 seats in the rear (as opposed to the standard 3,) and those seats are smaller than average. To comfortable sit in a 2+2-style rear seat, you must either be a small child, or an adult who happens to be missing your legs.

Technically, a coupe is defined as a fixed-top car with less than 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume. Typically a car with less than 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume has only two doors, hence the common practice of associating two doors with the term “coupe.” However, there are plenty of vehicles out there which have only two doors but more than 33 cubic feet in the rear. These cars, while their manufacturers may call them coupes, are technically two-door sedans. A few examples of two-door sedans are the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Mercedes CL-Class, Chevy Monte Carlo, and surprisingly, the Mazda RX-8 (although that’s a bit of a different story.)

What is a Sedan?

We generally associate sedans with larger, 4-door, closed-roof cars that can comfortably sit 4 or 5. A good way to recognize a sedan is by its fixed B-pillar between the front and rear windows.

Alternatively to a coupe, a sedan is technically defined as any closed-roof car with greater than or equal to 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume. This makes me wonder if the recent self-defined “four-door coupes” are actually coupes by definition. This includes the Lamborghini Estoque, the Aston Martin Rapide, and the awkward Porsche Panamera. I’m having a problem understanding the purpose of a four-door coupe. If it has such a small rear interior volume, what’s the benefit of it having four doors? If you want a sports car that still has two seats in the back, do it right and a get a 2-door coupe in a 2+2 configuration. If you want a family-hauler, get a sports sedan.

Alright, so we know the technical difference between a coupe and a sedan. Now what? I’m still going to call a 2-door car “coupe,” and a 4-door car a “sedan.” No need for this confusing technical differences. We need to ignore the marketing BS being used. Even though the term “four-door coupe” is technically correct, it’s stupid.

I refuse to acknowledge the Mercedes CLS as a “four door coupe”, just like any other 4 door car with swoopy lines.
Coupe = 2 doors
Sedan = 4 doors
as for the RX8, I’d call that a sedan as well and I know a lot more people would argue with that than with the CLS. But it has 4 doors and although it’s a beautiful sedan, it still is a sedan.

Door size doesn’t matter
Number of doors does.

We already have enough confusion with what is a minivan, crossover, SUV, MPV, hatchback, and station wagon. We don’t need to make things any more confusing.

Whenever you hear someone say “four door coupe” smack them in the mouth and say “sorry, what did you just say?” and then raise your hand again.

Rob, thanks for the comment. The RX-8 can be considered a sedan both logically (4 doors) and technically (more than 33 cubic feet in the rear.)

I agree with your solution to the four door coupe problem

I’ve always understood the definition as: a coupe is any car where the doors do not contain the window in a frame.

I’ve by no means gone and done a lot of research, but this definition seems to hold true for the cars listed throughout this article, and in my experience in general. My VW CC is called “coupe.” I would almost guarantee it has more than 33 cubic feet of rear interior volume. But the windows are not framed. RX-8 and CLS fit this definition as well.

That isn’t the case Matt. Honda’s Civic and Accord Coupes have full frames. Mercedes CLS has 4 doors that are all frameless. Whether a car’s door windows have frames can go either way on both types, coupes and sedans. For you I can understand the correlation but further research would point out a hundred contradictions.

I was reading an old article from the 80’s saying that my ‘84 BMW 325e was a sedan. It’s got two doors and I barely fit in it! I always thought that sedan = 4 doors and all that described in the article. Thanks for clearing it all up, although I’m not sure I believe whoever described my tiny bimmer as sedan.