One hinge, higher up. A liftback looks like a sedan from any angle and opens like a hatchback: the tailgate carries the rear glass with it, so the aperture runs to the roof instead of stopping at a parcel shelf. Anyone who has tried to post a large box through a sedan’s boot slot knows what that is worth.
Skoda has sold the Octavia as a liftback for decades and is unusual in saying so. Most makers reach for a different word for the same body, which is why the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-door and the Ferrari Luce sit under this tag despite neither using it. One further distinction is worth holding onto, because it is where most of the confusion starts: liftback and fastback are not competing labels. One names how the car opens, the other the line of its roof, and plenty of cars are both.
