Why do cars have grilles?
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Almost every enclosed car ever made has a grille, but why? And why are they starting to die out in 2024? We have the answers.
Grilles are an important part of vehicle design and aesthetics. They’re the centrepiece and face of all vehicles. We have become so accustomed to looking at them that it seems strange to see a car without one.
RELATED: What to do when your car overheats
But these aren’t just aesthetic or design choices for vehicles; they have real-world advantages and are a core part of keeping your engine safe.
Here’s everything you need to know about the often misunderstood car grille.
Why do cars have a grille?
Cars have a grille to protect the radiator while promoting airflow through the front of the car.
If there were a big, gaping hole, debris could get through to your radiator and cause damage or a puncture. This would then drain your radiator of all of its water/coolant, causing your engine to overheat.
If there were no openings at all, then there would be no airflow for your radiator, which would prevent the radiator from cooling down the coolant/water and the refrigerant in your air-conditioning condenser from cooling down to give you cold air in your car.
The grilles we know today were first installed on 1930s vehicles. The earliest example we could find was the 1920 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which used slats that have become iconic fixtures on all Rolls-Royce cars.
Prior to this, some cars just used a gridiron-shaped ‘gravel shield’, while most others did not have anything separating the radiator from potential debris damaging it.
Why don’t electric cars have grilles?
For over 100 years, grilles have been the face of the car, but they’re beginning to disappear as electric vehicles become more popular.
Tesla, Hyundai, MG, and other EV brands will not use grilles on their electric vehicles as there is no longer a need for them. A grille traps air, causing drag and eating into your range. If you see a grille on an electric vehicle, it is likely fake.
Although EVs use liquid to cool their batteries, they don’t run as hot as an internal combustion engine, so the radiator for the cooling system does not need to have a large, direct airflow.
Grille or grill?
Funnily enough, one of the most common misconceptions about the word is how it is spelled. The correct spelling is ‘grille’, pronounced with the ‘e’ silent.
Grill refers to the thing you cook your steaks and sausages on, not the other way around.
The etymology of the word grille comes from the language Old French and the word ‘greille’, which refers to the Latin ‘craticula’ meaning a gridiron, mostly referring to the grid bars on windows of homes and prisons.
Although, there’s nothing stopping you from using the grille to grill some meat while grilling someone about the correct spelling of grille, if the grille were metal. If your grille is plastic, then you should actually use a grill.
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