Moonroof Vs. Sunroof: What's The Difference And How Can You Tell Them Apart?
The terms seem interchangeable, so what makes a sunroof different from a moonroof?
When is the pane of glass on top of your car a moonroof and when is it a sunroof? It's a question that has perplexed me for ages now, so I've decided to finally get to the bottom of it. Well, as it turns out, there's pretty much no difference between the two, but that wasn't always the case!
At one point in automotive history, the term sunroof was used to reference a non-see-through panel made of either metal or canvas that completely blocked out the sun, according to JD Power. A moonroof, on the other hand, was a silver-tinted piece of tempered glass with a sliding interior sunshade. What that means is that you can see out of a moonroof at all times while a sunroof is a solid piece of material you cannot see through unless it is open.
At this point, there is just a single vehicle on sale today with a "traditional" sunroof: The Porsche 911, which it calls an "Electric Slide/Tilt Sunroof" and has offered it for a couple generations now. Porsche being Porsche means there are a lot of options, and that means you can get a 911 coupe with four different roof options: The sunroof, a traditional moonroof (sliding pane of glass), a regular metal roof and a carbon-fiber roof. What a company. This all means that unless you buy a Porsche 911, you aren't getting a true sunroof. You're getting, by all accounts, a moonroof.
Of course, there are still more subsections of sunroofs and moonroofs, as JD Power explains:
Built-in roofs offer the option of raising the panel's rear to keep air out of the interior. The driver can slide the panel fully open, retaining it between the roof and the headliner.
Spoiler roofs have the same vent option and characteristics. However, the panel remains above the roof whenever you open them as it slides back.
Pop-up roofs pop up at the back to vent air and can be entirely removed for storage.
Lamella roofs have numerous glass or opaque panels that can vent and slide back like a set of horizontal blinds. They can usually be found on Mercedes or Pontiac vehicles.
Panoramic roofs offer a view out of the vehicle and open-air above both the front and rear seats.
Basically, all of this is to say that in this day and age, the terms sunroof and moonroof can be used interchangeably. The only real difference is long gone at this point because that's just the way language works. Unless you run into a real dork, no one is going to correct you whether you call that little opening in your car's roof a sunroof or a moonroof. If they do, you've got my permission to shove them in a locker.