I am eagerly awaiting the loss of life of the sedan

One of many highlights of the 2025 New York Worldwide Auto Present was the Kia EV4, at the moment as a result of attain the US in early 2026. It was notable for a number of causes: uncommon styling, twin 12.3-inch touchscreens, and as much as 330 miles (531 kilometers) of vary should 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 accident set off itself whenever 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, but it surely 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 pattern already in progress

Honda

Once I was rising up in Canada (and visiting the US) throughout the ’80s and ’90s, sedans have been in all places. On reflection, they have been the “default” automotive for North America — you solely purchased one thing else to accommodate area of interest calls for. If you happen to wished ample cargo house, you purchased a van, a truck, or a station wagon; should you wished to economize, you purchased a compact hatchback. Even quite a lot of highschool children ended up getting used sedans as starter automobiles.

You’ll be able to nonetheless purchase new sedans, however in North America they have been eclipsed in reputation by SUVs, vans, and crossovers. Whereas it is tough to trace down up-to-the-minute knowledge, 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 automotive 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 should you’re a house owner who’s principally touring forwards and backwards to work, often shuttling children round, taking holidays, or having an evening out. However should you’re usually transferring from house to house — like many millennials and Gen Zers — a sedan cannot match that many bins, not to mention giant items of furnishings. And even as soon as you have settled right into a home, there is a good likelihood you will be happening weekend runs to shops like Residence Depot, Greatest Purchase, or IKEA. Few issues are extra irritating than carting a TV or stack of lumber out to your automotive solely to understand it will not match.

Youngsters exacerbate the scenario. My spouse and I solely have one youngster, however like many individuals lately, we do not have handy kin 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 purchasing 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 components for the 2020s

Chevrolet

When my spouse and I purchased a brand new automotive 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 typically, but it surely’s normally nothing some artistic seat manipulation cannot repair. I can not think about making an attempt 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 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 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 facets of this trajectory I do not like. Many SUVs are nonetheless unnecessarily enormous, blocking lanes and sightlines in visitors, and naturally posing a extra severe risk in the event that they hit one thing. The identical may also be mentioned of many vans, which frequently do not even carry cargo. In locations like Alberta and Texas, it looks like 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 fully? I doubt it, a minimum of till robotaxis and different totally self-driving vehicles are an omnipresent actuality. They do serve a goal. However each the constructive and unfavorable traits in place appear to be urgent exhausting, and I might slightly issues skew within the path of practicality than fake we’re all well-off professionals who get every thing huge and heavy delivered by white-glove companies.

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The affordability subject

One ultimate thought

Honda

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

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

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