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 as a result of 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 when 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 stable

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

Why sedans ought to disappear

A pattern already in progress

Honda

Once I was rising up in Canada (and visiting the US) throughout the ’80s and ’90s, sedans had been all over the place. On reflection, they had been the “default” automobile for North America — you solely purchased one thing else to accommodate area of interest calls for. In case you wished ample cargo area, you acquire a van, a truck, or a station wagon; when you wished to economize, you acquire a compact hatchback. Even plenty of highschool children ended up getting used sedans as starter automobiles.

You may nonetheless purchase new sedans, however in North America they have been eclipsed in recognition by SUVs, vans, and crossovers. Whereas it is troublesome 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 — regardless of that purchasing an SUV for efficiency is akin to purchasing a Bowie knife to cut up dinner greens.

A sedan is sensible when you’re a home-owner who’s largely touring forwards and backwards to work, sometimes shuttling children round, taking holidays, or having an evening out. However when you’re recurrently transferring from condo to condo — like many millennials and Gen Zers — a sedan cannot match that many packing containers, not to mention massive items of furnishings. And even as soon as you have settled right into a home, there is a good probability you may be happening 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 baby, however like many individuals as of late, we do not have handy kinfolk or babysitters close by. Our son and his booster seat have to return together with us on many errands, shrinking the quantity of cargo area even additional. In that sense, I actually cannot blame dad and mom for getting full-sized SUVs, even when most of them do not want a Nissan Armada or Chevy Tahoe to take their children to judo classes.

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The street forward

Adapting type 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 best format for us — extra cargo area than a sedan, however nonetheless sufficiently small to be reasonably priced and slot in a single-car storage. We nonetheless run into area issues generally, nevertheless it’s often nothing some inventive seat manipulation cannot repair. I am unable to 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 up, particularly since they permit sufficient area for bigger batteries on EV fashions. The Chevy Equinox EV (above) is spectacular to me as one thing underneath $34,000 with a 319-mile (513-kilometer) vary. I might 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 elements 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 severe risk in the event that they hit one thing. The identical may also be stated of many vans, which frequently 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 powerful on the streets.

Will sedans disappear fully? I doubt it, not less than till robotaxis and different absolutely self-driving automobiles are an omnipresent actuality. They do serve a objective. However each the optimistic and detrimental traits in place appear to be urgent arduous, and I might somewhat issues skew within the route of practicality than fake we’re all well-off professionals who get all the things huge and heavy delivered by white-glove providers.

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The affordability difficulty

One closing 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 danger that our purchasing habits will inadvertently push some folks out of the auto market, notably if corporations cannot work out a solution to construct a worthwhile EV equal of sub-compacts just like the Honda Match. The business goes to go all-electric, ultimately.

I am comparatively optimistic on that entrance, just because know-how retains evolving, and buyer demand is sure to maintain issues in examine. There’ll all the time be somebody recent out of faculty who wants an inexpensive experience — the business cannot fake that everybody is able to shell out $40,000 or extra for his or her ultimate do-it-all-mobile.

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Merely getting the place you wish to go appears to be an even bigger difficulty.