I am eagerly awaiting the dying of the sedan

One of many highlights of the 2025 New York Worldwide Auto Present was the Kia EV4, presently attributable to attain the US in early 2026. It was notable for a couple of causes: uncommon styling, twin 12.3-inch touchscreens, and as much as 330 miles (531 kilometers) of vary in the event you pay for the Wind trim. It even has a brand new voice assistant capable of refine its responses and command recognition, so hopefully, it will not by chance set off itself if you’re jamming out to

Spotify
. Thoughts you, Apple says the identical factor about

Siri
.

It ought to — by all rights — be a strong

electric car
for the individuals who need one, however it additionally made me understand one thing — I’ve completely zero curiosity in sedans anymore, irrespective of how well-built or futuristic they’re. Certainly, the format appears to be on its manner out, and for as soon as I am really supportive of the way in which the world goes, so long as inexpensive choices stick round too.

Why sedans ought to disappear

A development already in progress

Honda

After I was rising up in Canada (and visiting the US) throughout the ’80s and ’90s, sedans have been in all places. Looking back, they have been the “default” automobile for North America — you solely purchased one thing else to accommodate area of interest calls for. For those who needed ample cargo house, you acquire a van, a truck, or a station wagon; in the event you needed to economize, you acquire a compact hatchback. Even plenty of highschool youngsters ended up getting used sedans as starter automobiles.

You possibly can nonetheless purchase new sedans, however in North America they have been eclipsed in recognition by SUVs, vehicles, and crossovers. Whereas it is tough to trace down up-to-the-minute information, in 2019, SUVs accounted for 47.7% of US gross sales (per a New York Times report) versus simply 22.1% for sedans. Even some sports activities automobile manufacturers have added SUVs to their lineups. I see Porsche Cayennes on the street on a regular basis — irrespective of that purchasing an SUV for efficiency is akin to purchasing a Bowie knife to cut up dinner greens.

A sedan is smart in the event you’re a home-owner who’s principally touring forwards and backwards to work, often shuttling youngsters round, taking holidays, or having an evening out. However in the event you’re often shifting from condo to condo — like many millennials and Gen Zers — a sedan cannot match that many packing containers, not to mention giant items of furnishings. And even as soon as you have settled right into a home, there is a good probability you may be occurring weekend runs to shops like Dwelling Depot, Finest Purchase, or IKEA. Few issues are extra irritating than carting a TV or stack of lumber out to your automobile solely to comprehend it will not match.

Youngsters exacerbate the scenario. My spouse and I solely have one little one, however like many individuals today, we do not have handy family or babysitters close by. Our son and his booster seat have to return together with us on many errands, shrinking the quantity of cargo house even additional. In that sense, I actually cannot blame mother and father for getting full-sized SUVs, even when most of them do not want a Nissan Armada or Chevy Tahoe to take their youngsters to judo classes.

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The street forward

Adapting kind elements for the 2020s

Chevrolet

When my spouse and I purchased a brand new automobile in 2022, we selected the Hyundai Venue, which is a compact crossover SUV. It is the perfect format for us — extra cargo house than a sedan, however nonetheless sufficiently small to be inexpensive and slot in a single-car storage. We nonetheless run into house issues generally, however it’s often nothing some artistic seat manipulation cannot repair. I can not think about attempting to do the identical issues with my outdated Buick Regal.

In that regard, I really feel that crossovers and different small SUVs are rightfully taking on, particularly since they permit sufficient house for bigger batteries on EV fashions. The Chevy Equinox EV (above) is spectacular to me as one thing beneath $34,000 with a 319-mile (513-kilometer) vary. I would like to see 300-mile ranges on compact hatchbacks, too, however the tech in all probability will not be there till solid-state batteries arrive round 2030.

There are some facets of this trajectory I do not like. Many SUVs are nonetheless unnecessarily large, blocking lanes and sightlines in site visitors, and naturally posing a extra critical risk in the event that they hit one thing. The identical can be mentioned of many vehicles, which regularly do not even carry cargo. In locations like Alberta and Texas, it looks as if lots of people get one simply to slot in with the native cowboy tradition, and/or to really feel robust on the streets.

Will sedans disappear utterly? I doubt it, at the very least till robotaxis and different totally self-driving vehicles are an omnipresent actuality. They do serve a objective. However each the constructive and damaging traits in place appear to be urgent laborious, and I would reasonably issues skew within the course of practicality than faux we’re all well-off professionals who get the whole lot huge and heavy delivered by white-glove providers.

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The affordability difficulty

One remaining thought

Honda

I do have one different concern, and that is pricing traits. Even compact crossovers are generally costlier than sedans, so there’s the chance that our buying habits will inadvertently push some individuals out of the auto market, notably if firms cannot determine a technique to construct a worthwhile EV equal of sub-compacts just like the Honda Match. The trade goes to go all-electric, ultimately.

I am comparatively optimistic on that entrance, just because know-how retains evolving, and buyer demand is certain to maintain issues in verify. There’ll all the time be somebody contemporary out of school who wants an inexpensive journey — the trade cannot faux that everybody is able to shell out $40,000 or extra for his or her best do-it-all-mobile.

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