Sunroof or Moonroof - Which is Best for Your Car?

The sunroof is perhaps not the most useful, but certainly a nice addition to the car's features. There are several types of these devices, and it’s finally time to take a closer look at them, and Columbus and iSeeCars experts will help you with this.

A sunroof can expand and refresh a car's interior space by letting in additional sunlight and air flow, notes iSeeCars.com.

It's hard to disagree. And it is not for nothing that today almost all modern car models are equipped with this addition, which is absolutely not out of place in our times of triumphant wide pillars and side windows reminiscent of bunker loopholes.

When buying a used car, buyers are often faced with the fact that there are different types of sunroofs. Sellers call one of them sunroof and the other - moonroof.

We often do not pay attention to these terms, believing that we are talking about the same thing in both cases. But that's not true. 

Sunroof

Devices designated as sunroof were the very first type of roofs to be installed on cars. Until the early 1990s, they replaced air conditioning in cars - even in inexpensive car models due to he fact is that the technology for cooling the air in the cabin was complex and could significantly increase the car price – by about 20%.

In the era of the omnipotence of scientific and technological revolution, the need for hatches, intended primarily for interior ventilation, is practically gone – they are rarely found in cars today. 

The sunroof is different in that it is opaque, made of metal, and the top is painted the same color as the car body. However, there were also glass hatches of this type, and even those consisting of electric photocells, so this difference is not the main thing. The sunroofs could be opened (manually or electrically) in a number of ways: they could be raised, retracted, moved, tilted, or a combination of these. 

Depending on the type of opening, these roofs were divided into several subtypes: lifting, sliding built-in, sliding, lift-and-slide, double sliding and folding.

A separate story is the homemade cut in roofs installed at home garages. As a rule, they were small, opened manually and intended solely for ventilating the cabin, Columbus experts note.

• Lifting sunroof manually opens upwards and is fixed at a certain angle.

• Lift-and-slide sunroof is electric powered and partially slide back along guides on the roof of the car. When open, the roof is noticeably above it, often at a slight angle, which gives it a resemblance to a sports car spoiler.

• Top-mounted sliding sunroof is also powered and are similar to the “spoiler” sunroofs but open all the way without sticking above the roof. They are often equipped with wind deflectors that automatically extend when the hatch is opened, reducing wind noise and preventing small objects from getting into the car.

• Double sliding sunroof consists of two sashes located one behind the other, where the front one can be sliding, and the rear one can be fixed. There are also options where both are sliding. A great rarity in cars, this can only be found in old Mercedes E-Class and Subaru Outback models. From the relatively new ones – in the Mercedes GLC-Class.

• Sliding built-in sunroof is very similar to moonroof. They are usually made of glass and slide completely into the space between the roof and the interior upholstery. They used to be manual but now use an electric drive. The big con is that roofs like this significantly reduce the head room in the cabin.

• Folding sunroof is commonly made from fabric that folds like an accordion. This is a cheap and rather practical alternative to convertible cars, but roofs like that are rare these days.

Moonroof

Moonroofs are significantly larger in area than their sun counterparts, and they are always transparent, since they are made of glass (often tinted).

They can be fixed or completely slide retractable into the roof. But they can not be completely removed from the car like sunroofs.

They often come with a manual or electric sun visor and a sliding sunshade to shield the driver from the sun.

Many automakers - Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota and Honda – made these roofs even in the lowest price segment models. But they are mainly found in higher trim levels - for example, in the Honda Civic, the roof is available in the EX edition and above. In luxury cars - Acura, BMW, Cadillac and Lexus - these sunroofs are always electric powered.

Panoramic roof

There is another type of roof that is gaining popularity in America and is replacing traditional sun and moonroofs - the so-called panoramic sunroof.

Typically, this roof consists of two large panels of tinted glass that extend over the front two rows of seats, allowing plenty of light into the car's interior.

The front panel acts as a tilt-and-slide sunroof, while the rear panel is a large fixed panoramic window. This type of roof is typically equipped with a sunshade.

Since it combines the properties of both, sunroof and moonroof, it is referred to as a panoramic sunroof in the States. The term panoramic roof is reserved for permanently fixed glass structures.

Panoramic roofs are usually found in high trim levels of premium cars but sometimes they can be found in more down-to-earth cars like Mercedes C-Class, Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry and Jeep Cherokee.

Choosing a reliable roof

If you are looking to buy a used car or SUV with a sunroof, be sure to look for any signs of moisture leaks in the interior. This is especially important for cut in roof that were not factory made. 

• Inspect the seals near the roof to make sure there is no moisture there and that they are in good condition.

• Try opening and closing the roof to see how well it works. Do this before and after the test drive but not during the trip to make sure that enthusiasm does not affect your judgment.

Always check to make sure that the roof is working properly. The motors of their electric drives may burn down, the moisture drainage channels can become clogged, and the glass may be getting stuck in the guides. Even a seemingly slight jam can cost a pretty penny over time due to the complexity of the work on the roof and upholstery. Fix your roof’s malfunctions right away!

Thus, the answer to the question “which roof is better for the car you want to buy?” is very simple - the one that works perefectly.

Sources: iSeeCars.com, Morries.com