What is the difference between body style and body shape?

"Body style" and "body shape" are often used interchangeably in everyday conversation, but on official vehicle records they can refer to slightly different levels of detail.

How the terms are generally used:

• Body shape — usually the broad category of the vehicle, such as hatchback, saloon, estate, SUV, coupe, or convertible
• Body style — can refer to the same broad category, but is sometimes used more specifically to describe variations within it, such as "3-door hatchback" versus "5-door hatchback," or the number of doors and general configuration

In practice, the exact terminology used can vary between the DVLA, insurers, and manufacturers, so you may see slightly different wording depending on where you're looking. What matters most for practical purposes — like buying, insuring, or checking a vehicle — is that the recorded body shape/style matches what the car actually is in person; a mismatch between the official record and the physical vehicle can occasionally indicate the vehicle has been rebuilt, had a body swap, or been misrecorded, which is worth investigating further if you come across it.