But, of course, the reality is that most people don’t end up in the sedan segment out of any particular burning desire. The cars are practical three-box designs with enough room to carry four or five passengers and enough trunk space to accommodate the baggage for said people. It’s the classic silhouette of the suburbs, as normal and accepted as a pair of pleated pants or a divorce.
That baked-in sense of normalcy presents some interesting opportunities for manufacturers who tread slightly out of the usual focal length. For years, Volkswagen successfully offered its Jetta as a robust driver’s car at a reasonable price, leaving the juggernauts like Toyota Camry and Honda Accord to their own recipe (a successful one, by the way). But ever since VW changed the Jetta’s raison d’etre to include something other than driving excitement, it’s left a gaping hole in the market.
