Anatomy of an SUV

When it comes to designing vehicles, every element on an SUV’S body has a name. As with algebra, you won’t be using these designations often, but it is good to know what a swage line is and what purpose the crown serves on your SUV’S bonnet.

punched from a single metal sheet. Where these parts come together, a joint line is sometimes welded up, filled and painted over. Nowadays, though, bumpers are made of plastic and therefore cannot be welded to the metal body.

6 Wheel arch

A wheel arch is usually crescentshaped, but sometimes more angular – as with the FJ Cruiser. The edge is often covered with plastic trim to protect the paintwork. than the modest trim that are integrated into side panels.

8 Cheater panel

This triangular panel has two purposes: it’s a convenient place to attach a wing mirror and the front side window can terminate in a blunt stop so that it won’t take up too much space inside the door when lowered.

9 Belt line

This is the line directly below the side windows. It often extends from the bonnet to the brake lights and serves as the foundation of a car’s design. It is one of the first lines drawn by a designer when putting pencil to paper.

10 Character line

A character line is a fluid, soft curve in the metalwork. You’ll sometimes find more than one character line, as with the Renault Kadjar, while it is

Unlike a character line, a swage line is a more distinct, raised fold or sunken seam that extends longitudinally over the body. It is more than mere decoration; it makes doors and panels rigid, so they don’t dent when you lean against your vehicle or slam a door closed. BMW’S designers, in particular, love the swage line.

This is the metal bit above the windows where the roof starts. Sometimes the seam between the pillars and the roof is welded to soften the cant rail, but sometimes – as with the new Land Rover Discovery and Range Rover Velar – it is emphasised. In some older SUVS – and the new Suzuki Jimny – there is a gutter on the cant rail that helps to drain rainwater and provide a hard edge onto which you can clamp a roof rack.

A vehicle’s haunch sits on its hindquarters, just like an animal’s. It’s the bulge above the rear wheel. Porsche and Renault like to put sensual haunches on their SUVS, while Toyota’s Land Cruiser 76 has a haunch like Sheldon Cooper’s of The Big the rear mudguard of yore. You’ll find the fuel cap here and the C-and D-pillars sprout from it. appearance, but unlike most other elements in car design, a shut line is unavoidable. Volkswagen is known for its perpendicular shut lines.

What is a door without a sill? In a rock- crawling off-road vehicle, the sill is often dented, which is why rock sliders are needed.

This is the distance between a wheel and the farthest point of the bumper. A long overhang looks good on a Ferrari, but it messes up your off-roader’s approach and departure angles. The only advantage of a long overhang on an SUV is that it offers a longer crumple zone. seen from the front). It is often above the swage line and always below the cant line. Sports cars such as the Lamborghini Aventador have an exaggerated tumblehome while an old Land Rover Defender hardly has one at all. Vehicles that spend long days outdoors benefit from a narrow tumblehome that allows in little noon sunlight, so the interior stays cooler.

Those lines – or seams – on a bonnet are called a crown and the purpose of it is to keep an otherwise flimsy bonnet rigid. The crown is becoming increasingly important as a bonnet nowadays should readily deform when hitting a pedestrian, so they’re not seriously injured. Vehicles used to have a metal section under the front bumper called a stone tray – remember the VW Golf 1 and Mazda 323? Nowadays the stone tray is either no longer there or it is covered up by the bumper. SUVS, however, have retained it in the form of the bash plate, even though it is sometimes made of silver-painted plastic.

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