Where have all the small to medium sedans gone?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Where have all the small to medium sedans gone?

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BlakJak

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#3170115 9-Dec-2023 18:06

Rikkitic:

Hammerer:

Many SUV drivers can’t maintain “normal” road speeds on windy NZ roads. We are regularly delayed by SUV drivers who can’t drive at the speed limit and don’t realise how drivers in vehicles with a lower centre of gravity can take corners more easily.

Why the big hurry? I drive an AWD sedan and while I can corner like a rally driver, I have absolutely no need or wish to do so. Slow down and enjoy the lovely New Zealand scenery.

This is a very self-centered point of view. Some people value their time and don't want to be stuck behind someone who has a slower, heavier and poorer-handling vehicle 'just because'.

I still drive a car because I appreciate the improved handling, and reduced running costs. I drive a wagon because I still get decent stowage and cargo volume when I need it.

I should add I also have my class 2 license and drive heavy vehicles from time to time (as often as every few weeks), so i'm pretty happy with the needs of a vehicle that does actually have performance parameters very different to a car.

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Bung

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#3170117 9-Dec-2023 18:12

Hammerer:

We were recently involved in a highway accident where we were the only vehicle still drivable and the only vehicle with occupants who didn’t have a trip to the hospital in a helicopter or ambulance. Our low centre of gravity and sure-footed AWD allowed us to avoid hitting any of the three wrecks in front of us, although we were still hit from behind despite managing to get off the road.

Don't tell me you went round a corner at speed then had to avoid an existing situation. Relying on low centre of gravity and awd is no substitute for being able to stop in the visible distance in front of you.

Rikkitic

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#3170123 9-Dec-2023 18:55

BlakJak:

This is a very self-centered point of view. Some people value their time and don't want to be stuck behind someone who has a slower, heavier and poorer-handling vehicle 'just because'.

That's a bit harsh. I did go on to clarify that drivers should pull over for traffic behind them as a courtesy. But the speed limit is an indicator, not a target. It is also a bit self-centred to insist that people should go faster than they feel comfortable with, thus causing a potential safety issue, just because someone else is feeling impatient. Courtesy works both ways.

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Hammerer

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#3170134 9-Dec-2023 19:28

Bung:

Hammerer:

We were recently involved in a highway accident where we were the only vehicle still drivable and the only vehicle with occupants who didn’t have a trip to the hospital in a helicopter or ambulance. Our low centre of gravity and sure-footed AWD allowed us to avoid hitting any of the three wrecks in front of us, although we were still hit from behind despite managing to get off the road.

Don't tell me you went round a corner at speed then had to avoid an existing situation. Relying on low centre of gravity and awd is no substitute for being able to stop in the visible distance in front of you.

No. Line of sight was good for us. The initial difficulties were a long gentle curve that unsighted most drivers in a long line of traffic, an intersection that had three lanes on the other side of the road, and the accident was just after sunset on Friday evening so glare and tiredness affected reaction times. Most drivers probably missed seeing the vehicle racing across the four lanes of highway traffic - I had looked right to see him. He only made it to our lane, the fourth, before being T-boned by a car ahead of us who hadn’t seen him crossing. We were able to come to a controlled stop in the only safe space to stop, on the verge right beside an 0.8m deep ditch 2m from the T-bone wreck.

The biggest problem for us was that we were being sandwiched by drivers behind us who did not brake as quickly as we did so we would have been shunted into one of the three vehicles in front of us if we hadn’t been able to swerve right to avoid debris and then swerve left to provide a free path for them to drive through. My wife didn’t even get scared because the car always felt totally in control. If we had our other car we would have had greater risk of skidding in the swerve and, at minimum, ending up with one of the wheels going into the ditch.

BlakJak

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#3170142 9-Dec-2023 19:36

Rikkitic:

BlakJak:

This is a very self-centered point of view. Some people value their time and don't want to be stuck behind someone who has a slower, heavier and poorer-handling vehicle 'just because'.

That's a bit harsh. I did go on to clarify that drivers should pull over for traffic behind them as a courtesy. But the speed limit is an indicator, not a target. It is also a bit self-centred to insist that people should go faster than they feel comfortable with, thus causing a potential safety issue, just because someone else is feeling impatient. Courtesy works both ways.

"It's not a target". That's almost a trope now.

When you choose a vehicle you knowingly accept the parameters of that vehicle, including things like power:weight, centre of gravity, fuel efficiency and so-on.
I'm not suggesting that someone should drive beyond the limits of the vehicle or their ability.
I'm suggesting that in recognition of those things sometimes the selection of vehicle isn't quite right.
(And perhaps that some drivers need to up their game, but that's very subjective).

"Drive to the conditions" includes the conditions of your vehicle, and I absolutely agree that keeping left and giving way to traffic that wants to move faster are major compensations applied to those who driver slower and poorer-handling vehicles.

But again - there's a reason I bought a car, and not an SUV. I don't need the capabilities of an SUV and 'safety' is a nebulous justification.

And I enjoy the fact I spend quite a bit less on fuel and tyres in a car.

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alasta

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#3170217 10-Dec-2023 08:31

As an allegedly slow and incompetent SUV driver I am happy to pull over for the speedsters. I am not the police and I am not going to try to do their job for them.

It's worth noting though that I pay for my use of the roads just like everyone else, so I don't owe any gratitude to anyone for my use of them.

Radiotron

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#3170257 10-Dec-2023 11:23

A little late to the party, however a definite vote for saloon cars (or sedans if you prefer).
Mazda Mazda6 models are still around, and even available new, just.

NZ new ones are a good buy secondhand so long as decent service history. I'll probably buy another when this one eventually wears out or gets collected by a SUV.

It's light for it's size, even compared to the liftback or wagon variants, handles well, and good on gas.
And a lockable steel boot with no interior access - you can drop the rear seats for long items, but release levers are in the boot space.

I like driving a car as opposed to being a passenger with a steering wheel in some sort of appliance that doesn't like corners, which has been my experience of SUVs.
SUVs work well for many, be it practical matters or fashion, and that's fine, each to their own. Still don't want one.

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rb99

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#3170266 10-Dec-2023 11:47

Is this why wheels are getting so ridiculously big, cars turn into SUVs and the wheels get bigger to stay in proportion in the vain hope nobody notices...

“The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

rb99

Rikkitic

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#3170291 10-Dec-2023 13:21

rb99:

Is this why wheels are getting so ridiculously big, cars turn into SUVs and the wheels get bigger to stay in proportion in the vain hope nobody notices...

I tried to embed a youtube link here but couldn't get it to work. I give up.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

Hammerer

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#3170879 11-Dec-2023 23:03

rb99:

Is this why wheels are getting so ridiculously big, cars turn into SUVs and the wheels get bigger to stay in proportion in the vain hope nobody notices...

Wheels with a greater diameter will generally increase the ride height (ground clearance) which is more important when driving off-road.

SomeoneSomewhere

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#3170881 12-Dec-2023 00:41

I regularly drive both a light cab-over truck and a small hatchback (new swift). While the viewpoint from the truck is obviously much higher, it really doesn't seem to make that much of a difference, though I don't do too much night driving.

What I have noticed is that a very, very large number of people aren't taking advantage of the fact that your seat height is adjustable. It should basically be as high as it can be without you hitting your head on the ceiling, unless that's actually uncomfortable. If you can barely see over the ceiling wheel, your seat needs to be much higher. If you cannot see flat along the top of the bonnet (i.e. see the colour of the bonnet from inside), then it's blocking a significant portion of the road that you probably could see if you were seated higher. That extra foot of space above your head is a bit of a waste.

Brought this up while giving a driving lesson and it made a pretty big difference.

Unfortunately, if you're on the vertically challenged side, you might want to invest in a cushion because manufacturers don't do a great job of catering to everyone.

This does, of course, come with its own pile of arguments as with anything cars - but put me in high-seat-club.

jarledb

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#3170883 12-Dec-2023 03:24

There is a new electric sedan available in NZ: The BYD Seal

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kiwifidget

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#3170925 12-Dec-2023 08:35

jarledb:

There is a new electric sedan available in NZ: The BYD Seal

Nice, but she wont go electric.

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