maddogmorg said:

General Lee? :slayer:

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Sadly not. But I will get to drive a car with zero doors very soon; the Ariel Atom 3 300 :slayer:

MikeSalt said:

One thing that has only briefly been touched on is that this choice is not just about aesthetics over practicality, but also driving dynamics. A Grande Punto 3dr for example has a torsional chassis rigidity of 19,700 Nm/degree compared to only 16,500 Nm/degree for the 5-door. This equates to superior suspension geometry intergrity in the 3-door, so it should be the better drive.

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Where did you get that info from out of interest?

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Where did you get that info from out of interest?

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I don't remember where I saw that originally, but i found it again here.

tricky one this, as some of you may know iv gone from a 5door mk2 punto to a 3door mk2 punto. i felt much more comfertable in the 5door, felt more warmley. dont ask why lol. but with me having 2 kids it was grate to get car seats in without struggle and boot very slightly bigger helped the ease of putting pram in.

with the 3door all this is reduced to a struggle. plus the doors are longer and a lot of time is a payn in the back side to get in and out at carparks, and as for the car seats well you can imagine.
BUT i think the 3door looks better, also there are more parts available to change the looks.

so i realy wouldnt know wich to pick as my fave. if i didnt have kids i would probs say 3door. but as i have kids id say 5. :bang::bang:




and before anyone asks why iv now got a 3door, it is because the 5door got damaged and i got the 3door very very cheep whilst i had little money!

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Where did you get that info from out of interest?

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iv never looked that info up but i would say the 3door grips that little bit better. not a lot but enough to notice.may help with it being that little lighter to

mcjacko1987 said:

iv never looked that info up but i would say the 3door grips that little bit better. not a lot but enough to notice.may help with it being that little lighter to

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I suppose the chassis rigidity difference is not too apparent by the fact that both the arms and subframes use bushes for vibration and noise reasons. Put some alloy subframe mounts and proper rose-jointed arms and the differences will be much more obvious.

MikeSalt said:

I suppose the chassis rigidity difference is not quite to apparent by the fact that both the arms and subframes use bushes for vibration and noise reasons. Put some alloy subframe mounts and proper rose-jointed arms and the differences will be much more obvious.

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For the looks: 3-door.
In practice: 5-door (prefer stationwagon, everybody with children will know what I mean....).

I like 5 doors more, but currently have a 3 (landy) and 4 (bora).

In general 3 door cars have bigger doors so it's easier to get in and out with the seat right back, but I hate the lack of back doors. I also prefer 5 doors (hatch or estate) compared to 4 door saloon as you can normally get more in but I have 4 door bora as it was a good car in my price range and I knew the cars history.

I hate the long doors on 3-doors. Means they can't open as wide for tubbies like me when parked next to other cars

I prefer the 3 door as it looks more sporty, but guess its more of a pain if you carry 4 people regular or a baby in a seat.