Can Sedans be Desirable?

I feel that an ongoing preference for two door cars which are also available as 4 door cars stems from a time where the 2 door variants were always considered more sporty and targeted at younger people. Granted, as evidenced by some of the photos up above, the 2 door variants often had better lines, and may have came with options that made them sporty.

Those days are gone, gone, gone. Cars with back seats are largely designed around having 4 doors. Given the limitations of modern design and safety, look about as good as they can. However, the people those earlier, vintage cars were targeted at have never budged from thinking that 2 door cars look better, perform better and are cooler overall than 4 door cars.
 

Even in the hatchback world, this:



is better than this. Especially since the one below is slammed.

Practically speaking, for 4/5 seater street cars I generally prefer 4-doors to 2-door.

Aesthetically speaking, it depends a lot on the car.  A 4-door 90s Camry or Accord looks better than a 2-door of the same vintage.  OTOH, a 2-door E46 is much more attractive than a 4-door, same with 90s Civics and 2010-ish GTIs.

I always thought the more door 57 chevy was better proportioned as a hardtop.   The post sedans aren't as pretty. 

I feel the same way about the '66 Cadillac. They don't make any sense as a coupe and they look malformed, but they're a great four door hardtop. And generally, I like the four door versions of most cars compared to their two door variants. I'm certainly not going to say anything bad about the badass E39 M5 as a desirable sedan.

But as always, there's a good exception. Remember this pretty thing? It had some grace.

I would love to own another Fox Body Mustang. But I'd totally jump on buying a real LTD LX if I found a good one.

Uh, yeah

I'll assume sedan is meant to be 4 door car and not a car with a large back seat... IIRC GC Imprezas have small enough back seats that they are all coupes, if you want to go by the legal definition not the colloquial one

Now if you want to talk something that meets both definitions of the word...

The D2 chassis Audi A8L.  S8s were all short wheelbase A8s, the A8L had a back seat with more legroom than many cars' front seats.  You could play soccer on the floor between the front and rear seats.

And they only weighed about 4000lb thanks to the aluminum everywhere construction, so they were remarkably quick, even if you went for the sensible V8 and not the W12.  Most cars its size were over 5000.

In reply to jimbob_racing :

I had no idea that this existed.  What a neat sleeper.  

P3PPY said:

And if not, why? What's really so different about another set of doors? Speaking of which, I know it can happen (Cadillac CTS?), but how often is one more desirable than a coupe version of the same, if one exists?

I've heard that compared to the DB9, the Aston Martin Rapide is a better drive because the longer wheelbase gives better high speed stability and to counter the extra length it was fitted with a quicker ratio steering rack so it feels as nimble.

Somewhere, Viergang Fuchs is smiling

Not the same green as the infamous S5, but it's definitely not black, gray, or silver!

Can Sedans be Desirable?

In a word, no. The only reason to own a 4 door is because a 2 door is not available.

I had a dream last night that I welded up the rear doors on my car and made it a 2 door. Pretty sure I have to make it happen now.

I just knew that removing your rear seats would turn out to be a gateway mod.

ShawnG said:

2 door sedan, yes.

4 door anything no.

Anything with 4 doors looks better with two doors.

Yes:

No:

 

Wrong.

In reply to Appleseed :

That's fast. Fast is also cool. But he's still not wrong. 

I'm still on the hunt for one of these. 

I'm a bit of a Pontiac fan boi, so I'd love one of these too...

Love sedans.......especially big ones with mega power.

I do like a big girl if she has a bit of pizazz under the hood.

I can think of some...

Food for thought. Thanks, guys!

Admittedly, I was rather myopically thinking of older American cars when the question came to me. And in that realm, it's my opinion that ShawnG has the correct litmus. I don't think I'd be way off the mark by saying the lone exception to "2>4 when 2 is an option" is the CTS-V. But I'd also say that that example is irregular in that the 2 and 4 door lines were very different, unlike the deformity of most older cars where they chopped in an extra door on the side. 

Late 50s GM flattops are totally reet. Way cooler than bubble tops.

Great chassis. Worth almost nothing now, so a real bargain. They are a PITA to work on, though.

P3PPY said:

And if not, why? What's really so different about another set of doors? Speaking of which, I know it can happen (Cadillac CTS?), but how often is one more desirable than a coupe version of the same, if one exists?

There are very very few cases IMO where the coupe is more desirable than the sedan if they share the same chassis and wheelbase.

I think the DC2 Integra is the only one that comes to mind.

Puddy46 said:

I always thought the 8th gen Civic Si looked better as a sedan than as a coupe.

I second this motion, and I own a blue one.

In reply to Toyman! :

I'm right there with ya. I mean, not as much piazzaz. Or as big. But still fun.

Also, "technically" my 2dr e30s are all sedans. It's weird.