Summer Thread: The decline of the sedan

[spinback32]

I still drive a 2014 Altima, with now 250k miles on it. I travel as much as anyone throughout the Midwest (through ice/snow/sleet - you name it). 2 car seats and a stroller still fit and it hauls all of my work tools.

Point being - people are mostly bad drivers to begin with, so to expect them to make any sort of intelligant car purchase decision, is silly. Why do you think there's so many Subarus on the road today? That entire line (besides maybe the WRX) is a pile of poopy....dressed up to look like an outdoorsman vehicle.

FWD on a sedan is more useful than AWD on a SUV most of the time, because of weight, center of gravity, etc.

 

[CascadeClone]

If you need a sedan, you probably have enough kids and/or stuff that an SUV is much more convenient. If you don't have kids and/or hobby stuff, then a smaller car/coupe is probably what makes more sense. So there's the demand side.

On the supply side, SUVs are more expensive (ie profitable) and have lower standards for fuel economy.

Put it all together, basically the mid-market in terms of size is getting crowded out. Getting pushed to bigger for convenience or smaller for practicality.

I have a sedan now, but when it dies, I certainly don't need a 4-door. Almost never have a 2nd person with me, much less a 3rd. No idea what to get though. Not a lot of coupes either, that aren't teeny tiny or high-end sports cars.

 

[MeanDean]

It's funny how many people think they need 4 wheel or all wheel drive to deal with the snow in Iowa. I've had a front wheel drive mini van since 2019 and I can count on 1 hand the number of times where I didn't drive because I didn't think my van could handle it. I will probably go back to a sedan once the kids are out of the house. When you've got 4 kids a sedan doesn't work any more.

The Hyundai region that covers this area definitely thinks so. I asked about getting a FWD Santa Fe (versus the AWD) and they told me Hyundai will not ship them any because "nobody will buy them" here in the North.

 

[Cyclonsin]

I put my new (to me) Explorer into a curb during our first snow.

They are just fancy station wagons. The capability in snow isn't remotely close to my old body-on-frame Pathfinder.

After writing a nice check to repair the Explorer I've learned a valuable lesson.

I mentioned this just a bit higher up, but the tires are the biggest difference. The vehicles aren't less capable of driving in winter weather but they tend to come with less beefy tires than they once did to get higher MPG ratings. Whether an SUV is unibody or body-on-frame doesn't make an iota of difference in how it'll handle snow.

As a former 2020 Explorer driver just get winter tires, or even really solid all-weather ones, and you'll be just fine.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

My wife and I both have 4 door sedans. 2014 Honda Civic for her, mine is a 2015 Mazda 6. We purchased both of them used, but have both been our main vehicles for probably 8ish years. We didn't have kids when we bought them (actually weren't even married yet) but have since added 2 kids and a dog. Road trips are still possible but man we are packed in like sardines. We will probably be joining the SUV club before too long, if not minivan or something with a 3rd row.

 

[mywayorcyway]

I won't deny the functionality of an SUV compared to a sedan. My wife drives an SUV, and it has uses that my car just doesn't. But for my personal car, I'd pick a sedan every time. It's just so much more fun to drive

I agree, but fun to drive doesn't outweigh the utility - at least for me. I also cheat a bit by having a non-daily sports car that fulfills my desire for fun.

My favorite non-sports car was my 2001 Acura TL. I bought it with sporty tires on it and it was pretty fun to drive for a four door. I put all weather tires on it when I replaced them...cheaper and better in the snow, but definitely not as fun. Went from a nice handling modern sedan to driving like a '74 El Dorado. Amazed at the difference those tires made.

 

[Flynn4Heisman]

Anyone else bummed that the auto industry is pivoting away from sedans in recent years?

As someone who has always exclusively driven 2-door coupes, don't even get me started. I used to get excited if I saw a Z or super tuned Mustang on the road for example.

Now I get excited just seeing ANY Coupe on the road.

 

[KnappShack]

I mentioned this just a bit higher up, but the tires are the biggest difference. The vehicles aren't less capable of driving in winter weather but they tend to come with less beefy tires than they once did to get higher MPG ratings. Whether an SUV is unibody or body-on-frame doesn't make an iota of difference in how it'll handle snow.

As a former 2020 Explorer driver just get winter tires, or even really solid all-weather ones, and you'll be just fine.

We just got new skins on there. The Explorer does not have the same capability as my Pathfinder did. It's not even debatable

 

[Cyclonsin]

We just got new skins on there. The Explorer does not have the same capability as my Pathfinder did. It's not even debatable

You shouldn't need the full capability of either vehicle to safely drive in even nasty snowstorms. Of course the larger body-on-frame Pathfinder is going to be more capable at some things than the glorified crossover the Explorer has become, but winter driving isn't one of them 99.9% of the time (the 0.1% would be handling large drifts, assuming the Pathfinder has a higher clearance).

And using good winter tires, not just new tires in general, was the main point I was making.

Honestly, if your vehicle (regardless of what it is) can't handle even insane snow conditions with the proper tire, the problem exists inside the cabin.

 

[BoomerClone]

It's been 20 years since I owned a sedan and I would never plan to buy another one so,

¯\_(ツ)_/¯​

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I like sedans but I need a truck so that's a simple decision.

 

[KnappShack]

You shouldn't need the full capability of either vehicle to safely drive in even nasty snowstorms. Of course the larger body-on-frame Pathfinder is going to be more capable at some things than the glorified crossover the Explorer has become, but winter driving isn't one of them 99.9% of the time (the 0.1% would be handling large drifts, assuming the Pathfinder has a higher clearance).

And using good winter tires, not just new tires in general, was the main point I was making.

Honestly, if your vehicle (regardless of what it is) can't handle even insane snow conditions with the proper tire, the problem exists inside the cabin.

Considering how the driver is a constant I will assume you are talking about the CD player.

The Pathfinder loses to the "Sky Fusion" there as my Bee Gees CD was stuck for almost a decade.

 

[Cyclonsin]

Considering how the driver is a constant I will assume you are talking about the CD player.

The Pathfinder loses to the "Sky Fusion" there as my Bee Gees CD was stuck for almost a decade.

Was still definitely talking about the tires, but this gave a good chuckle.

Then I remembered I don't have a single device that can even play a CD anymore and thought it would be fun to share this video of the Vikings rookies receiving the photos from their first team shoot:



One last comment on the topic: I do feel like various "traction control" options make driving in snow much more difficult and I almost always disable them, but I did really like the feel of "slippery" mode on my Explorer.

 

[KnappShack]

Was still definitely talking about the tires, but this gave a good chuckle.

Then I remembered I don't have a single device that can even play a CD anymore and thought it would be fun to share this video of the Vikings rookies receiving the photos from their first team shoot:



One last comment on the topic: I do feel like various "traction control" options make driving in snow much more difficult and I almost always disable them, but I did really like the feel of "slippery" mode on my Explorer.

 

[Kinch]

Love my Impala.

 

[HOTDON]

That Kia Stinger actually comes in a twin turbo in one option, so it is a poor man's sport sedan.

The TTV6 starts north of $50k. Poor man's nothing. Beautiful car though. Thought for sure those would lose value like, well, a Kia but it hasn't happened.

 

[HOTDON]

I'm probably a loner on this (not a huge car guy, other than I like nice ones with bells and whistles), but I have always figured why go manual when the vehicle can do it for you. Of course I've never had to learn to use a stick, and I understand some enjoy the "feel", connection to the vehicle, or nostalgia of it. But I'm surprised every time I see it on a vehicle from the past 40 years.

Definitely not a loner. In fact, the market says you are in the vast majority. I enjoy driving with a manual, but I also don't sit in stop and go traffic. It used to be more economical and perform better overall by offering an extra gear or two. Not the case anymore with 8 and 10 speed autos and CVTs being normal. The ZF 8 speed auto in the new Supra does everything better than the 6 speed manual aside from offer that connection.

 

[NWICY]

The TTV6 starts north of $50k. Poor man's nothing. Beautiful car though. Thought for sure those would lose value like, well, a Kia but it hasn't happened.

Do you have one? Is it as fun as it looks? I had rolled a Chevy cruze and needed a replacement ended up with the Kia Rio. Going into the dealership was the 1st time I realized Kia made higher end stuff.

I'm actually quite happy with the Rio if you do a fair amount of open road driving and keep it sub 70 it will knock out 40mpg pretty darn consistently.

 

[Rabbuk]

Do you have one? Is it as fun as it looks? I had rolled a Chevy cruze and needed a replacement ended up with the Kia Rio. Going into the dealership was the 1st time I realized Kia made higher end stuff.

I'm actually quite happy with the Rio if you do a fair amount of open road driving and keep it sub 70 it will knock out 40mpg pretty darn consistently.

My co-worker who has gotta be close to 400 pounds has one and he zips around in it and likes it.

 

[Buster28]

I have a hard time getting in and out of anything that's relatively low to the ground anymore. Hard on my knees and on my neck. It's just easier to get in and out of an SUV than a sedan anymore. I've had a RAV4 for five years. Prior to this, I've had five sedans, five two-doors, one truck, and the SUV. While my favorite will always be one of the sedans (a black 2001 Buick Regal GS), I don't see myself ever owning one again. It will likely be another SUV or crossover when the RAV ages out for me.