You must like that feeling of sitting in your car, looking up and being able to see the sky above your head, and all of that is possible if your car is equipped with a sunroof. But with so many types of them equipped on cars, what are their differences?
What is a sunroof?
A sunroof, or as some refer to as a moonroof, are a glass or opening on the roof of your car that allows light and/or air to pass through to the inside of your car. Sunroofs had existed since the early days of cars, and was an alternative for those who wanted fresh air in the car but didn’t want the hassle of a convertible, and was popular back then until now.
Different types of Sunroofs
There are many different types and names of sunroofs on the market, but most of them are quite similar other than the way they are opened, so for simplicity here we’ll only talk about the bigger differences between them.
First are the small rectangular windows you’ll usually see on the front row of the vehicle, there are different variations where they are fixed and cannot be opened up, pop-up sunroofs that can tilt up to have a little bit of opening, spoiler sunroofs that tilt up and retract above the roof, and inbuilt sunroofs that retract inside the roof of the car giving a clean look.
Panoramic Sunroof
The panoramic sunroof is a result of modern technology that allows most of the roof to be replaced with glass, allowing for an almost full glass roof called a panoramic sunroof, hence the name panoramic that means a wide view. There are also different variations of the panoramic sunroof, those that are fixed glass, and some that include a retractable section along the panoramic sunroof, allowing for air to come through.
Miscellaneous issues and features
Sunroofs are usually present on higher configuration models of cars, and although they are a nice addition, it also adds a point of failure where the sunroof might get stuck or have a water leak in the future.
If you worry about too much sunlight do not fret, as most sunroofs have a sunshade that you can cover up when the sun is high, and sunroofs now are electrical and can be opened easily like your windows and you can control how much of it to be opened.