The car has long ceased to be a means of transportation. Now a car is also a stylish addition to your image, an indispensable means of relaxation and travel. The world's leading manufacturers offer car enthusiasts a wide variety of brands from budget models to business class cars.
What to choose? A typical sedan that is a city car or a powerful crossover that is supposedly not afraid of off-road conditions? In any case, a clear choice: a crossover or a sedan is impossible due to the fact that the car enthusiast buys a car according to his personal preferences and beliefs. Ukrainian marketers, for example, promote crossovers, convincing buyers that they simply cannot survive in the urban jungle without such a parquet SUV. But is this really so?
Vehicle Specifications
It will be quite difficult to identify the leader when considering the technical aspects of the crossover and sedan. After all, it depends on the brand of the car, its characteristics, factory and additional options and price category. A crossover differs from a sedan in that it is a large-sized car with a high degree of cross-country ability. Although this level of cross-country ability cannot be compared with the Suzuki Jimny or Jeep Wrangler. Nowadays, any car is equipped with parking sensors, navigators, sensors, and a reliable automatic transmission. But the crossover has all-wheel drive, which allows for good traction.
Capacity
Which is better, a sedan or a crossover? We evaluate the capacity of the car. Traditionally, a crossover is positioned as a family car. You can easily maneuver it through the city streets, or go with the whole family on a trip to the sea. At the same time, the crossover has similarities with station wagons. The rear seats or passenger seats can be folded down. You can’t fit an oversized closet in a sedan, but you can easily fit it in a crossover. So the crossover is more spacious than the sedan.
Patency
The difference between a crossover and a sedan also lies in the degree of cross-country ability of the car. It is unlikely that you will be able to drive off-road in a sedan, because most of these cars are produced at automobile factories with a low ground clearance. Even in the city, if there are holes and potholes on the road, there is a possibility that you will damage the suspension. The crossover is an all-wheel drive vehicle, it is not afraid of curbs and holes, it has high ground clearance. Deep puddles, snow ruts – the crossover can handle all this, and the sedan can safely get stuck even in a small puddle.
Fuel consumption
At first glance, the advantages of a crossover over a sedan are obvious. But there are moments in which the sedan stands head and shoulders above the crossover. This is, for example, fuel consumption. Gasoline in the country is by no means cheap, and even the most inexpensive SUV uses quite a lot of it. The sedan's three-liter engine with 250 horsepower allows you to save fuel even when driving fast. But the crossover has different power characteristics. Uneconomical fuel consumption is explained by the dimensions of the car and the all-wheel drive system. Therefore, in this regard, crossovers are not exactly economical cars.
Choosing a car body
Parquet jeeps are actively popularized. The buyer thinks that it is possible to overpay a hundred or another thousand hryvnia and buy a truly reliable car? And many people believe that the larger the body of the car, the more prestigious and respectable it is. The crossover is often inferior on the road. But there are also disadvantages. Although the sedan has a smaller body, its handling and maneuverability are significantly better. It's easier to park it at a shopping center. Of course, in crash tests the sedan body cannot compete with a parquet SUV. The choice of body styles for passenger cars is not great. Typically, buyers purchase a station wagon, sedan or hatchback. And among crossovers you can choose more interesting models, such as sports coupes and convertible-style cars.
Which is safer? Sedan or crossover?
Let's talk about what is safer: a sedan or a crossover? And here the crossover takes a confident lead. Numerous crash tests have shown excellent reliability of crossovers. Force is mass times acceleration. Crossovers are heavier than sedans, which makes them more stable on the roads. A crossover is not only more comfortable than a sedan, but also more reliable. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has noted this many times. According to the institute's main research, the survival rate of crossover occupants in a frontal collision is ten times higher than the survival rate in sedans.
In the event of a serious accident, the crossover simply runs over the passenger car, crushing it crushingly. And the large mass plus acceleration actually leaves no chance for an ordinary sedan. The study analyzed 83,522 fatal accidents that occurred from 1995 to 2010.
Which is better, a sedan or a front-wheel drive crossover?
Many experts unanimously claim that front-wheel drive crossovers are much more convenient and reliable than sedans. Such a car will cope perfectly with off-road conditions, although it consumes quite a lot of gasoline. The main advantages and disadvantages of a front-wheel drive crossover versus a sedan:
- Although front-wheel drive makes the crossover more maneuverable, its handling is still inferior to that of a passenger car;
- On front-wheel drive, there is no driveshaft, which means you don’t risk bending it on a bump, unlike a sedan;
- The front-wheel drive crossover is even more spacious than a regular one. It's big, powerful and reliable. It has an increased degree of cross-country ability. Although mobility is significantly lower than that of a sedan. A front-wheel drive crossover is better than a sedan in this regard.
Well, there’s one more minus: front-wheel drive crossovers are more expensive than sedans. Although there are business class sedans, the price of which can be simply exorbitant. Which car to choose is, of course, up to the buyer.
What is better crossover or business class sedan?
Thinking of buying a car? Business class sedan or crossover with front-wheel drive? The choice is not entirely clear-cut. Although business class passenger cars have additional security systems, are packed with the latest electronics and are quite expensive, they are still inferior in some respects even to budget crossovers.
The business class sedan has far from basic equipment. In addition to electrical packages, climate control, rotating headlights, ESC, there are many additional options. Yes, and a prestigious car is attractive. But when buying a car, determine why you need it. If you spend a lot of time in the city, then a business sedan is perfect. Do you often travel out of town, like hunting or fishing? Then a crossover will be the ideal option for you. Consider also the safety of the car. The crossover is heavier, which means it is more reliable. Well, you can read interesting information on automotive topics or find out about new cars on AUTO.RIA No. 1 among auto sites in Ukraine. Here is the largest database of cars among other sites. And 1,400 cars are sold here every day.
The choice of car depends on personal preferences. But don’t forget about the comparative technical characteristics that will help you decide.
Nowadays, motorists are increasingly paying attention to crossovers when choosing a car. They are in fashion, considered more comfortable and safer due to their high seating position and optional all-wheel drive. The victims are cars that are similar in price. Instead of B-class sedans, they choose slightly more expensive subcompact all-terrain vehicles, and instead of mid-size four-doors, they choose SUVs comparable in interior space and price.
Young motorists often choose a larger car to assert themselves. A crossover is ideal for this: for a small overpayment relative to a sedan, you get a “jeep,” which has been considered prestigious by default in Russia since the 1990s. But an ordinary car can be no less status. It’s not for nothing that Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar have always made exclusively sedans, and the first all-terrain vehicles appeared in the model range of these brands quite recently - for the sake of fashion. Of course, these are examples from the highest price category, but Creta, compared to Solaris, is by no means a premium option.
Today, graduates of driving schools are better suited to a regular passenger car than a crossover. The latter is larger in size, heavier, and has a higher center of gravity. As a result, not yet knowing all the nuances of driving a car, a novice motorist dooms himself to communicate with more complex equipment. The all-terrain vehicle rolls more when driving, it has worse visibility, and is more prone to rollover. In addition, plug-in all-wheel drive can instantly change the behavior of the car, for which a beginner will not be ready. It's not far from the accident here. Conclusion: the crossover driver should be more careful when cornering.
By the way, about accidents. SUVs have a feature that is completely absent in sedans: upon impact, things from the rear parcel shelf and even from the trunk may well fly into the heads of the driver and passengers. True, owners of hatchbacks and station wagons should be wary of the same thing, but in Russia they play secondary roles, and the main struggle is between crossovers and sedans.
But while the cargo is in its place, all the smells go into the cabin. Whether it's a can of gasoline or food for outdoor recreation, you'll have to sniff the contents of the luggage compartment the whole way. On the other hand, you can always reach out, for example, to a fragrant sausage and have a snack right on the road. And the owner of the crossover must not forget to constantly close the curtain over the trunk. Otherwise, all its contents will be visible to strangers, which can lead to unpleasant consequences in the form of broken glass and lack of personal belongings.
Putting something heavy in the trunk of an SUV is a more difficult task than in the case of a sedan. The latter have a smaller loading height, so it’s easier to load anything there. On the other hand, a washing machine, for example, simply won’t fit there. And in a crossover - easily!
The hope for increased ground clearance compared to a sedan may also not come true. And it happens that the ground clearance is even lower than that of a passenger car! So the drivers of both cars are equally at risk of hitting their bottoms in a deep rut. For example, there are several “all-terrain vehicles” with a clearance of 165-170 millimeters. For comparison: a regular Lada Vesta sedan has 178 millimeters under the crankcase protection. Well, who is the crossover here?
At the same time, most owners do not fully realize all the capabilities of a tall car. All-wheel drive may be useful only in winter, but such cars are not very suitable for serious off-road conditions. Moreover, it’s easy to scratch on some branch! In addition, most drivers simply do not know how to drive off asphalt, as a result of which they land the crossover in the first puddle. And this is not to mention the fact that a rare driver understands the operation of the all-wheel drive system or transmission, they do not know what a reduction gear is and how to use it. Often, it is incorrect operation that disables various units, and the car enthusiast who killed them blames the quality of modern technology.
When buying a crossover, you can forget about saving. Firstly, an all-terrain vehicle will cost more than a sedan of a similar class. In the case of an all-wheel drive car, an additional payment is for the transmission, but buyers of single-wheel drive cars also overpay for the image.
Secondly, ongoing maintenance will also be more expensive. Even for a front-wheel drive SUV, not to mention a more complex all-wheel drive.
Thirdly, SUVs have better fuel consumption (due to worse aerodynamics and increased weight) and require more expensive tires. The size of the latter is simply larger than that of a sedan, so you will have to pay other money. You will also have to pay extra at the car wash.
So, after weighing all the pros and cons, answer yourself the question again: is a crossover really necessary? The sedan is also not without its advantages, and the apparent advantages of an all-terrain vehicle may in fact turn out to be a myth or not necessary for you.
The number of car body types has almost doubled over the past 15 years. Manufacturers are increasingly trying to combine several body types in one car. It is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish one option from another, but we will still do it.
To begin with, we will divide all body types into 3 groups: three-volume, two-volume and single-volume.
Conservatives
The three-volume body has a protruding hood and trunk. Three-volume vehicles are among the least versatile bodies due to the limited possibility of transforming the interior and trunk. This group includes sedans, coupes, convertibles and pickups.
Sedan, coupe
The most striking representative of the three-volume body is the sedan, which is present in the model range of almost all manufacturers. The sedan is considered the most conservative (classic) and prestigious body type. The sedan is extremely popular on our roads, where “prestige is everything” and cars are divided into sedans and non-sedans.
A convertible is a coupe with a “soft” tent roof that folds behind the rear seats and raises when necessary.
But the soft top did not allow the car to be used all year round, so in the late 90s a new version of the open body began to gain popularity - the coupe-convertible. At first glance, it looks like a regular coupe, but when you press the right button, the hard metal roof lifts up and neatly folds into the trunk, turning the coupe into a convertible.
A two-seater convertible (without a second row of seats) is called a roadster (for example).
Pickup
A pickup truck is a body with an open cargo area separated from the interior by a rigid partition. Simply put, it is a smaller copy of a regular truck. Most pickup trucks are built on the same platform as SUVs and have good cross-country ability. Both here and throughout Europe, pickup trucks are not particularly popular, but in the USA they are crazy about them.
Liberals
The two-volume body does not have a protruding trunk, and its lid opens only with the glass and is considered another door.
Two-volume bodies include hatchbacks, station wagons, as well as crossovers and SUVs created on their basis. Two-volume bodies are distinguished by the most spacious luggage compartments (station wagons) and compact dimensions (hatchbacks).
Hatchback, station wagon
There is probably no sedan owner who would not look at a crossover. Indeed, the SUV market has experienced an incredible boom in recent years. observed all over the world. This is because, according to many people, SUVs are more versatile and practical than regular sedans and station wagons. As a result, many drivers began to abandon passenger cars in favor of crossovers and SUVs. But this boom does not actually mean that SUVs have unconditionally won the global car market.
The fact is that, in fact, they also have pros and cons, just like passenger sedans. So the question of which car is better is still far from resolved. If you have not yet decided what to buy, a crossover or a sedan, we invite you to find out five reasons why buying an SUV is the best choice and five reasons why you should still buy a sedan.
Crossover - Large cargo space
From the very beginning of their appearance, crossovers have always been more spacious compared to sedans. For example, the trunk volume is 495 liters. But the Honda CR-V crossover has an astonishing amount of cargo space, which is 589 liters.
If you fold the rear seats, the volume of cargo space will be 1669 liters. And this takes into account the fact that the Honda Accord sedan is larger than a crossover in its overall dimensions.
So if trunk size is important to you, then a crossover is definitely the best choice for you. This is one of the main advantages of any crossover.
Crossover - All-wheel drive system 4WD/AWD
Most of us live in a region where the winter weather gives us daily surprises in the form of freezing rain, snow, hail, etc., turning our roads into a winter rally track, an ice rink, or a winter off-road. Naturally, every driver knows that any car needs high-quality winter tires for reliable traction.
But in winter, non-all-wheel drive passenger cars are noticeably inferior to all-wheel drive cars even with the most expensive winter tires with studded tires. But of course crossovers and SUVs have even more advantages in winter.
The fact is that in addition to transmitting torque to all four wheels, as a rule, crossovers have increased ground clearance, which is important on snowy roads, streets and alleys.
This allows drivers not to experience difficulties in winter even on country roads outside the city. So, if you need to go to the country or to the village in winter, then it is better for you to buy an all-weather one, since it significantly outperforms a passenger sedan in cross-country ability.
Crossover - High seating
One of the reasons why crossovers have become popular all over the world is the high driving position. The fact is, thanks to the height of the crossovers, the seats in the car's interior are located high, which provides the driver and passengers with a higher seating position than in any passenger sedan. The high seating position provides the driver with better visibility on the road.
For example, the driver of a crossover has visibility several cars ahead. As a result, driving a crossover is more comfortable and safer, since the driver can see in advance what is happening in front of other cars. Thanks to this, drivers and passengers feel more comfortable and calm in crossovers.
And this is the main thing for any manufacturer, so that the products meet the maximum comfort criteria. Indeed, in the modern world, this is the most important thing for car owners.
Crossover - Off-road
Many sedan owners dream of driving off-road and on country roads. In most cases, this is not possible. Unfortunately, passenger cars are not designed for use outside of asphalt. Naturally, if you like to dig in the dirt in the forest or want to drive through flooded sections of the road without fear of getting stuck, then your best choice of car should certainly be SUVs.
Yes, of course, you can buy a passenger rally car, but the best solution will still be a crossover or a full-fledged SUV.
If you follow fashion not only in the world of consumer goods, but also want to be on trend in the auto world, then of course you should buy a crossover or SUV, because these days this is really their market. We must admit that the share of sedans in the car market will decline. And this cannot be avoided. Almost all automobile companies cannot ignore the boom in the crossover and SUV market observed around the world. Therefore, as long as there is an opportunity to make maximum profits in the SUV market, they will produce and design new off-road models.
Unfortunately, the development of crossovers is not possible without damaging sedans. Naturally, many automobile brands are forced to reduce investments in the development of new sedan passenger cars, shifting their interest towards crossovers.
It is noteworthy that this even affected powerful passenger sedans, for which there were virtually no alternatives on the global car market until recently. But now many automakers have begun to produce powerful ones, which in terms of technical characteristics are now not inferior to passenger sedans.
And this trend will only continue. So in the coming years we will see even more powerful crossovers and SUVs with technical characteristics that previously could only be found in loaded sedans.
So, if you are looking for a powerful car model, then you no longer need to necessarily purchase a passenger car.
There are already a lot of powerful crossovers and SUVs on the market these days, which not only are not inferior in performance to sedans, but also have a number of advantages over passenger cars, which we wrote about above.
Sedan - Fuel Economy
Even though crossovers have come a long way from being wasteful vehicles to fuel-efficient technologies, they still haven't been able to take away the advantage from passenger sedans until now. It is noteworthy that even hybrid crossovers failed to do this. Still significantly more economical.The whole point, of course, is the “windage” of SUV class cars, which leads to increased aerodynamic air resistance. It must be admitted that for sedans this figure is significantly higher. Plus, of course, this is the weight of the body
So if fuel economy is the main thing for you when choosing a car and you do not need versatility and practicality in a vehicle, then you should buy a sedan, since it is the undisputed leader in comparison with SUV class cars.
Sedan - Comfortable interior
We have already said that crossovers and SUVs have a high seating position for the driver and passengers, which gives a feeling of calm that provides an increased level of comfort. But this is based on psychology. In practice, in terms of convenience and comfort, sedan and station wagon cars are noticeably superior to their all-wheel drive competitors.
The fact is that due to the vertical seating position of crossovers, car passengers can become very tired during long trips. In addition, in many SUVs the seats are quite hard, which is clearly not in favor of maximum comfort. In the sedan, the seats are installed in a slightly different way, having different angles, which provide more possibilities for adjusting the car seats for maximum comfort while driving.
As a result, the driver and passengers feel more comfortable when traveling in a passenger car. It is worth noting that even on long trips, the driver and passengers of sedans get less tired than in SUV cars.
Sedan - Time-tested, reliable platform
Unfortunately, with the growing popularity of crossovers, the level of satisfaction with SUV cars is not growing. What is the reason? After all, people buy cars expecting an advantage over passenger cars.
But oddly enough, when surveying crossover owners, many of them often complain about obvious frequent problems with all-wheel drive vehicles related to their quality and reliability. Why are many crossovers not as reliable as cars? After all, most modern SUVs are based on the platforms of passenger cars.
It is very difficult to answer this question unequivocally. There are, of course, a lot of reasons why crossovers often upset their owners. For example, the main enemy of any crossover is the new platform on the basis of which this or that model is produced. After all, in pursuit of profit, many companies are in a hurry when designing, developing, etc. As a result, this leads to frequent miscalculations and imperfections.
In addition, due to the fact that many SUVs and crossovers are based on passenger models, they do not actually receive any upgrades to the suspension, which ultimately leads to its rapid wear. This is due to the fact that in many crossover models the suspension design cannot withstand the weight of the vehicle over time, which is significantly greater than that of passenger cars.
Sometimes car companies, trying to create a reliable crossover and using the platform of station wagons or sedans, slightly modernize the architecture in the hope that the new model will be of high quality. Sometimes automakers do a good job of creating amazing crossover models that are reliable and of high quality. But more often the opposite is true.
Unlike crossovers, sedans are more reliable and time-tested. After all, many passenger cars are produced on the basis of old classic platforms, which over time have been refined to perfection and actual ideal. Agree that more than 100 years was enough time for modern passenger cars to become almost ideal, unlike crossovers, which, in principle, despite their widespread use, are still at the beginning of their development path.
So, when purchasing a sedan, you will know in advance what you will get. When buying a crossover, it’s basically buying a “pig in a poke.” So if you do decide to purchase an SUV, be prepared for any surprises. But it is clear that you will spend significantly more money on maintenance on an SUV. Get ready. The cost of spare components, repairs and scheduled maintenance for crossovers is significantly higher than for passenger sedans.
If you are not willing to overpay for a crossover, then a sedan should be your best choice.
Sedan - Visibility and Visibility
Have you noticed how the automotive industry is being taken over? Technologies in the field of assistance to drivers while driving a car are developing especially rapidly. One of the fastest growing systems that has begun to appear en masse on modern cars is the reverse parking assist function. Have you noticed how quickly this option has migrated from expensive premium cars to economy class vehicles? And of course there is nothing wrong with that.
But few people know that since the advent of the video parking assistance function, this option has been primarily installed on crossovers. Have you ever wondered why? Of course, this was done for a reason and not just for marketing. The fact is that due to their size they have significantly worse visibility.
That is, the number of blind spots in SUV cars is much greater than in passenger sedans. Particularly poor performance in crossovers and SUVs is observed when parking in reverse. This is where a video camera on the trunk lid is indispensable, which transmits a video image of what is happening behind the car when reversing.
For the same reason, other, more advanced technologies for driver assistance when parking have appeared. For example, many automobile companies are now equipping both passenger cars and SUVs with a 360-degree view around the car, which is projected onto the LCD screen of the infotainment system.
Such visibility of the space around the car is achieved through several video cameras located on each side of the car.
Naturally, due to the poor visibility of crossovers and SUVs, this all-round visibility system is indispensable when parking. So, driver assistance systems, having appeared in many crossovers, also began to be used on passenger cars, making them even more comfortable and safer.
Yes, of course, we shouldn’t forget that not every sedan can boast of amazing visibility behind the wheel. For example, the Mercedes-Benz CLA has very poor visibility and may even be inferior in visibility to many modern crossovers. But more often than not, sedans have better visibility.
So when driving a Honda Accord or BMW 5-Series, visibility of the road and the area around the car is much better than or.
Believe me, it will be much easier for you to park in a passenger car than in an SUV built on the same platform.
Sedan - Design
Of course, there are people for whom the most beautiful cars are hatchbacks or station wagons. There are those for whom sports cars are the height of perfection. But as they say, there is no arguing about tastes. But still, these cars are not for everyone.
I understand that any classification is arbitrary, but you also need to know when to stop: there are cars whose classification as crossovers contradicts common sense. If we discard all unnecessary things, what is the definition of “a storehouse of knowledge” - Wikipedia - essentially? If not literally, then a crossover is a car with improved cross-country ability, including geometric, but not an all-terrain vehicle. The body is load-bearing, two- or one-volume. That is, a sedan cannot be a crossover. The crossover was also created on a passenger platform using passenger components and assemblies. It can be either all-wheel drive or single-wheel drive.
There is a loophole in this definition for marketers, which turns into a huge gate and allows slightly raised hatchbacks and station wagons to be classified as crossovers. Sometimes it comes to technical nonsense. Well, what kind of Volkswagen Polo Cross crossover is it?
Yes, compared to it, the standard Lada Kalina is an uncompromising all-terrain vehicle! And Kalina Cross is a snow and swamp-going vehicle, no less.
Let's use common sense and introduce one addition to the definition - clarify the status of the body. Let it be a passenger platform, let it be passenger components and assemblies! The main thing is that the crossover must have an original body that does not replicate a passenger car on a similar platform. And everything immediately falls into place.
For example, the new Hyundai Creta is a typical mini-crossover on the platform of a B-class passenger car.
And Nissan Murano is a mid-size crossover on the D platform.
Now a couple from the premium segment: the Volvo XC90 is a crossover, and the Volvo XC70 is just a C70 station wagon with increased ground clearance and plastic panels in the lower part of the body.
Why do I so insistently divide cars by body type? Yes, because the degree of improvement in geometric cross-country ability is different. Even just visually applying such parameters as the angles of the front and rear overhangs and the ramp angle to the Swedish couple, it is easy to see that the crossover in terms of geometry is much closer to an all-terrain vehicle than a raised station wagon.
We are gradually approaching the hero of the occasion.
Renault Duster is, of course, a compact crossover on the B0 platform.
But its brother on the Sandero Stepway platform is a hatchback with increased ground clearance, since it has a direct analogue in the form of the Renault Sandero.
And, most importantly, their other relative - XRAY - no matter how you call it a crossover, will remain just a raised hatchback. Both in terms of classification and capabilities.
Agree, a one-wheel drive car without an off-road body kit, with a body that differs from the Sandero only in makeup, should not be shoved into the same group as the Duster. In the end, being a hatchback adapted for Russian roads is also not bad.
