Photo: BMW
As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster. No, wait, that’s just the opening line to Goodfellas. In my case, it’s always been about cars. I have always been passionate about things that move us, things that we can control. There’s a synergy there, between you, the driver, and whatever it is you’re operating, be it a passenger vehicle, semi-truck, airliner, yacht, you name it.
I think every car enthusiast, sooner or later, realizes that it’s not just sports cars or supercars that are fun to drive but also regular family cars. Today, things are very different from how they were 20-25 years ago. You can have fun in a metal rhinoceros like a Durango Hellcat, whereas back in the day, anything bigger than a mid-size sedan would have offered very little driver engagement.
Now, the media is likely to blame for this, but until recently, you would have been absolutely ostracized for claiming there’s a four-door sedan out there that handles better than a BMW 3 Series. It’s always been the benchmark and granted, for good reason.
But go back and watch old Top Gear episodes, and you’ll see they never miss the chance to say the 3 Series is best to drive in its class. Same goes for the 5 Series in its respective segment or something like a Ford Focus when it came to compact hatchbacks. We love continuity and hate change, as a species.
As good as the 3 Series still is today, it doesn’t handle as sharply as the Alfa Romeo Giulia or the Jaguar XE, in my experience. So, if driving dynamics is what you’re really after when it comes to sports sedans, it’s finally OK to step outside the norm for a change. However, this leads us to a secondary issue, which is, why on Earth do we care so much about driving dynamics in cars we will never take to a race track.
I don’t mean things like the M3 or the Giulia QV, but rather their more mainstream variants – the bestsellers, which a lot of people still purchase because of their handling prowess. Look, I can appreciate a great handling car as much as the next guy, maybe even more, but what are we clinging to here? Youthful exuberance?
If we were to look at sports sedans from a practical standpoint, I fear we might come to quite a controversial conclusion, or at least I have. Let’s stick with the 3 Series, since it’s supposed to be the quintessential vehicle in this class – yes, it’s more “fun” to drive than its larger sibling, the 5 Series, but it’s also a lot less practical, considerably less comfortable, the tech usually isn’t as fancy, neither are the materials inside (understandable since we’re discussing two different segments), it’s not as safe overall and finally, good luck climbing in and out of one that’s equipped with sports seats over a 60-month lease period.
On that latter topic, unless you’ve got the lower back of a teenage gymnast, you’ll be making all sorts of “old man” noises as you lower yourself into a vehicle where because the driving position is so good, your back is flexing more than it would be in something like a 5 Series, let alone a small crossover or an SUV. It would be better if you ditched the sports seats, but even with regular ones, odds are you’d still be feeling the discomfort of lowering yourself that much behind the wheel long term.
Granted, I do have a bit of a bad back, but I’ve gotten the same feedback from people with absolutely no back problems, believe it or not.
To recap, these are my issues with sports sedans: they can be uncomfortable to get in and out of (some more than others), they aren’t as spacious inside as some might think (the wheelbase is generous but space for rear seat passengers remains limited), and finally, the fact that they’re sporty won’t be much of a factor as you sit around in bumper-to-bumper traffic each day. And when you finally do get out on the open road during the weekend, trust me, if the journey is long enough, you’d be much better off with something larger, which doesn’t ride as harshly.
When I was in my early 20s, I would have loved to own a genuine sports sedan. Today, you couldn’t pay me to drive one on a daily basis. Sure, I would if I had to, but at some point, I would just trade it in for something a little more comfortable. Even if it meant shelling out a few extra bucks.
Maybe I’m just getting old, but as I said, it’s not just about ergonomics. Practicality, driving comfort, and value for money are also major factors. The G20 BMW 3 Series has a larger wheelbase than a Toyota Camry, yet you get tons more passenger room inside the latter at almost half the price. I know it’s not fair to compare them, since one is a premium product, but I just can’t get over how small these sports sedans can be and it kind of seems like everybody is ignoring this simple little fact.
So, whether it’s the Bimmer, or the Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4, Alfa Romeo Giulia, or the Jaguar XE, you’re kind of getting the short end of the stick here if you’re a pragmatist.
I’ll just leave you with this: today, the BMW 3 Series is closer to a 1 Series in terms of interior space than it is to a 5 Series. And that, to me, is unacceptable.
Now, the media is likely to blame for this, but until recently, you would have been absolutely ostracized for claiming there’s a four-door sedan out there that handles better than a BMW 3 Series. It’s always been the benchmark and granted, for good reason.
But go back and watch old Top Gear episodes, and you’ll see they never miss the chance to say the 3 Series is best to drive in its class. Same goes for the 5 Series in its respective segment or something like a Ford Focus when it came to compact hatchbacks. We love continuity and hate change, as a species.
As good as the 3 Series still is today, it doesn’t handle as sharply as the Alfa Romeo Giulia or the Jaguar XE, in my experience. So, if driving dynamics is what you’re really after when it comes to sports sedans, it’s finally OK to step outside the norm for a change. However, this leads us to a secondary issue, which is, why on Earth do we care so much about driving dynamics in cars we will never take to a race track.
I don’t mean things like the M3 or the Giulia QV, but rather their more mainstream variants – the bestsellers, which a lot of people still purchase because of their handling prowess. Look, I can appreciate a great handling car as much as the next guy, maybe even more, but what are we clinging to here? Youthful exuberance?
If we were to look at sports sedans from a practical standpoint, I fear we might come to quite a controversial conclusion, or at least I have. Let’s stick with the 3 Series, since it’s supposed to be the quintessential vehicle in this class – yes, it’s more “fun” to drive than its larger sibling, the 5 Series, but it’s also a lot less practical, considerably less comfortable, the tech usually isn’t as fancy, neither are the materials inside (understandable since we’re discussing two different segments), it’s not as safe overall and finally, good luck climbing in and out of one that’s equipped with sports seats over a 60-month lease period.
On that latter topic, unless you’ve got the lower back of a teenage gymnast, you’ll be making all sorts of “old man” noises as you lower yourself into a vehicle where because the driving position is so good, your back is flexing more than it would be in something like a 5 Series, let alone a small crossover or an SUV. It would be better if you ditched the sports seats, but even with regular ones, odds are you’d still be feeling the discomfort of lowering yourself that much behind the wheel long term.
Granted, I do have a bit of a bad back, but I’ve gotten the same feedback from people with absolutely no back problems, believe it or not.
To recap, these are my issues with sports sedans: they can be uncomfortable to get in and out of (some more than others), they aren’t as spacious inside as some might think (the wheelbase is generous but space for rear seat passengers remains limited), and finally, the fact that they’re sporty won’t be much of a factor as you sit around in bumper-to-bumper traffic each day. And when you finally do get out on the open road during the weekend, trust me, if the journey is long enough, you’d be much better off with something larger, which doesn’t ride as harshly.
When I was in my early 20s, I would have loved to own a genuine sports sedan. Today, you couldn’t pay me to drive one on a daily basis. Sure, I would if I had to, but at some point, I would just trade it in for something a little more comfortable. Even if it meant shelling out a few extra bucks.
Maybe I’m just getting old, but as I said, it’s not just about ergonomics. Practicality, driving comfort, and value for money are also major factors. The G20 BMW 3 Series has a larger wheelbase than a Toyota Camry, yet you get tons more passenger room inside the latter at almost half the price. I know it’s not fair to compare them, since one is a premium product, but I just can’t get over how small these sports sedans can be and it kind of seems like everybody is ignoring this simple little fact.
So, whether it’s the Bimmer, or the Mercedes C-Class, Audi A4, Alfa Romeo Giulia, or the Jaguar XE, you’re kind of getting the short end of the stick here if you’re a pragmatist.
I’ll just leave you with this: today, the BMW 3 Series is closer to a 1 Series in terms of interior space than it is to a 5 Series. And that, to me, is unacceptable.
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