I am eagerly awaiting the loss of life of the seda...

One of many highlights of the 2025 New York Worldwide Auto Present was the Kia EV4, at the moment as a consequence 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 in a position to 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, nevertheless it additionally made me notice 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 approach out, and for as soon as I am truly 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

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. For those who needed ample cargo house, you acquire a van, a truck, or a station wagon; when you needed to save cash, you acquire a compact hatchback. Even quite a lot of highschool youngsters ended up getting used sedans as starter autos.

You possibly can 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 — irrespective 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 house owner who’s principally touring backwards and forwards to work, often shuttling youngsters round, taking holidays, or having an evening out. However when you’re commonly 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 understand it will not match.

Kids exacerbate the scenario. My spouse and I solely have one little one, however like many individuals nowadays, we do not have handy family members 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.

Associated

The Nissan Leaf is dead, long live the new Leaf

I’ll miss the Leaf’s earlier spirit, nevertheless it’s most likely for one of the best.

The street forward

Adapting type components 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 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, nevertheless it’s normally 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 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 most likely will not be there till solid-state batteries arrive round 2030.

There are some points of this trajectory I do not like. Many SUVs are nonetheless unnecessarily big, blocking lanes and sightlines in visitors, and naturally posing a extra severe menace in the event that they hit one thing. The identical can 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 robust on the streets.

Will sedans disappear utterly? I doubt it, at the very least till robotaxis and different totally self-driving automobiles are an omnipresent actuality. They do serve a goal. However each the optimistic and detrimental tendencies in place appear to be urgent laborious, and I might fairly issues skew within the course of practicality than faux we’re all well-off professionals who get every little thing large and heavy delivered by white-glove providers.

Associated

Why solid-state batteries will revolutionize EVs – and why we’re still waiting

They’re on the horizon, however there’s nonetheless a long way to go.

The affordability situation

One closing thought

Honda

I do have one different concern, and that is pricing tendencies. 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 approach to construct a worthwhile EV equal of sub-compacts just like the Honda Match. The business goes to go all-electric, eventually.

I am comparatively optimistic on that entrance, just because expertise retains evolving, and buyer demand is certain to maintain issues in test. There’ll at all times be somebody contemporary out of faculty who wants an inexpensive trip — the business cannot faux that everybody is able to shell out $40,000 or extra for his or her ultimate do-it-all-mobile.

Associated

The problem with self-driving cars isn’t safety

Merely getting the place you need to go appears to be an even bigger situation.