9 Signs You’re a True Sedan Enthusiast

Not all car lovers are created equal. Some crave speed, some crave style but true sedan enthusiasts have a unique eye for balance, comfort, and understated elegance. From appreciating smooth rides to knowing which trims offer the perfect mix of tech and luxury, these are the little habits, quirks, and passions that set sedan lovers apart from the rest. If you find yourself nodding along, congratulations you might just be one of them.

You Get Annoyed by “Four-Door Coupes”

Like, seriously. It’s a sedan! It has four doors and a B-pillar, just call it a sedan. A Mercedes-Benz CLS might be gorgeous, starting around, I don’t know, $80,000, and it started this whole trend, but it’s a sedan. Calling it a coupe is just marketing nonsense. It bugs you on a grammatical level. You appreciate the sleek roofline, but you wish they’d just own what it is.

You Judge a Car by its “Sixth Light”

The what? The sixth light! It’s that little side window behind the rear door. On a BMW 3 Series, it’s got this classic shape called the Hofmeister Kink. On a Honda Civic Sedan, it’s just a cool, sharp detail. If you find yourself looking at that little piece of glass, how it integrates, how it affects the profile… yeah, you’re one of us. It’s a detail 99% of people miss.

You Appreciate a “Three-Box” Design

This is the core of it. Engine bay, passenger cabin, trunk. Three boxes. It’s a classic, honest shape. A Toyota Crown or something that blurs the lines? It makes you a little uneasy. But a car like the Genesis G80, which starts around $50,000, it’s a masterclass in the modern three-box design. It’s balanced, it’s elegant. It just looks… right. An SUV is just one big, tall box. Boring.

You Notice the Door-Shut Sound

This is a big one. When you close the door, it can’t go clang. It has to be a solid, muted thump. You test-drive a car and the first thing you do is close the door. A Hyundai Sonata, for like $28,000, has a surprisingly good door sound now. It’s that feeling of solidity, of quality. If it sounds tinny, you’re already mentally crossing it off your list.

You Actually Use the Whole Tachometer

In an SUV, the tachometer is kinda just… there. For decoration. But in a real sports sedan, like a BMW M3, you watch that needle. You know where the power band is. You downshift for a corner just to hear the engine note, even if you’re not going that fast. That car is, like, $76,000, and a big part of what you’re paying for is the right to enjoy that tachometer dance.

The Word “Roadster” Makes You Think of a Sedan

Wait, what? Hear me out. A great sedan, like an Alfa Romeo Giulia, is the four-door equivalent of a roadster. It’s about balance, feedback, connection. It’s not about raw power, it’s about the feel. That car starts around $45,000 and it’s just… joyful. It’s a sports car that just happens to have two extra doors. That’s the dream, honestly.

You Have Strong Opinions on FWD vs. RWD

Front-wheel drive is fine, it’s practical. But rear-wheel drive? That’s for drivers. You know that a Cadillac CT4, starting around $35,000, being RWD by default is a statement of intent. It’s about handling purity. You’ll have a whole rant prepared about weight transfer and steering feel. Your non-enthusiast friends just stare at you blankly.

You See a Trunk as a Feature, Not a Flaw

Everyone loves a hatchback for its utility. But you see a well-defined trunk on a car like a Mazda 3 Sedan as a design triumph. It gives the car a proper rear end, a finished look. The hatchback version just looks… stubby to you. You’ll gladly sacrifice that giant opening for the superior silhouette. It’s an aesthetic choice, and you’re willing to die on that hill.

You Mourn the Loss of the Manual

This is the final sign. A true enthusiast sighs when they see a great sedan lose its third pedal. The recent Acura TLX Type S is an amazing car, around $55,000, but it’s automatic only. And it bums you out. You look at a car like the soon-to-be-gone Chevy Camaro (I know it’s a coupe, but bear with me) and you get sad for the sedans that never got the chance. The manual transmission is a dying art, and its death in the sedan segment feels like a personal loss.