Team-BHP - Hatch Back Vs Sedan ( Ride, handling, comfort, Power, Space, etc)

I find that the hatchback cars of today are slowly transforming themselves to offer more safety, more power,better ride and handling etc.
Was curious to know whether at the end of the day whether a Premium Hatch back say costing abt 6 laks+ offers more comfort interms of handling, ride quality and performance due to its reduced weight when compared to a Sedan at around the same price tag.

Obviously am looking at the diffreences in suspesion systems, the chasis design,the weight and the dimensions
of the cars which may have an impact on the factors i mentioned.

How does the current crop of premium hatch backs ( palio, swift, aveo, getz) stack up against the entry level Baleno,Esteem, Corsa, Accent, Indigo, Honda City,Petra etc..

Iam not an expert on this but will just hazard an opinion. I dont think there is much of a difference in terms of technology. Yes there will be an obvious difference in weight etc. Safety wise i dont think it makes an impact. Usually people prefer a hatch because of its size and convinience to drive in cities. Abroad usually people prefer a hatch back for the city so its easy to manouver and park and a sedan for out station and highway driving. At least that was the concept earlier. I guess your usage defines the kind of car you should buy wether it is a sedan, coupe, sports, suv, muv , station wagon, 4x4 etc. There are so many definitions of cars now that its mind bogling. I think for you to think that it is a hatch back so it will have more power, better ride etc etc will be wrong !

First and foremost: Hatchback and Sedan are not antonyms.

A Hatchback sedan, like a station-wagon has a tailgate, that affords access to the cargo, from inside the car.

The notchback sedan, on the other had gives better security to the carried cargo. You can give your door and ignition key to a parking valet, but keep the trunk (dikky) key to yourself, in expensive cars which have separate keys to the trunk and glove compartment.

Europeans prefer Hatchbacks for their convenience.
Americans and Indians prefer notchbacks.
There are some large hatchbacks(Standard 2000 and Saab 9000) and some dimunitively tiny notchbacks(Maruti Esteem/Opel Corsa), so size is not a distinguising factor either.

I read that hatches are popular in Europe / Asia because people carry luggage, skates, gliders, hot baloons etc on weekends and the roads are pretty good. The back seats on the these seats fold flush and create space for transport for a week end getaway and people also shack up on weekends on the back of the hatches.

In India our roads are not that developed and people do not make inter-city tours or make week-end trips as much as in Europe / Asia and hance hatches have not picked up. The same article says its a matter of time since roads are improving and more people are driving on the roads.

I also think its a cultural issue here....... sedans are perceived as a prestege and hatches don't carry that image. With the availability of more hatches the image is changing.......

My two bits..........

--Ramky.
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Guys, i did not intend to start this thread on what/how the hatch backs and sedans are percieved or what suits which part of the world. Am talking abt genuine drawbacks/ strengths in terms of power, handling and ride comfort due to their inherent shape/ design.

Also wanted to know the indian perspective.

Am waiting to hear ..

Cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by muni

I have had an Esteem for 7 years now..clocked more than 1.5 lac km on it ,in the city & on the highway.I have had a Getz for 6 months now...10500km & driven it on highways 4 times.I keep comparing these two cars all the time.My observations:

Esteem (Sedan)
POSITIVES:Reliable,powerful,zippy,low maintainence,decent ride on rough roads(independent suspension),10kmpl in city & 14-15kmpl highway.
NEGATIVES: Low slung,rear leg room less,pathetic handling,poor brakes.

CONCLUSION:Even though it is a sedan,it does not make sense on the highway,coz' of the negatives above.

Getz (premium hatch)
POSITIVES: extremely refined,reliable (so far),decent ride,great handling,oodles of leg space,good brakes,various combinations of boot space,feels solid & secure,easy to drive & park.11kmpl in city & 14kmpl highway.
NEGATIVES : not zippy,low end torque very bad,slow speed & rough road ride is bad (body roll pronounced,coz' of semi-independent suspension)

CONCLUSION: Even though it's a hatch,it is a great car for highways as well as the city.IMO,perfect category for Indian conditions.

Why one should go for Sedan instead of Hatch ?

I have been regularly reading various threads in this section (what car) of TBhp and one most important question come to mind almost always is this.

On one count most of us agree and that is sedans have better image in terms of official/professional car i.e snob value or image quotient.

Now what other qualities does a sedan offer over hatch from utility/practicality point of view ? I am starting off with a few in my mind and expect mates to add value.
1. Better highway handling
2. Boot to carry your stuff
3.

please add on

cheers

Having been both a sedan and hatchback user for a number of years, here are a few things that come to my mind:

1) Sedans generally have longer wheelbases - which make them stabler at high speeds. The rear seat also tends to be more comfy.
2) Noise levels are better insulated (as in a hatchback the noise from the trunk filters into the cabin very easily).

Other than this, if you knock the snob value factor, I don't see much sense in buying a sedan for city use in India - especially if you drive on your own. Modern hatches like the i20, Vista, Jazz offer excellent space in the rear and are more practical for use in the city and offer decent drivability and stability on the highways too.

In fact I feel one should go for a hatch over a sedan!

In Europe hatches rule the roost.

Of course this depends on driving needs but the average driver spends 90% of the time in the city. Congestion, parking and fuel consumption make buying a hatch a no brainer.

Unless one needs a large car for prestige reasons :D

Quite a few factors like some of us like the styling,handling capabilities and boot space when it comes to sedans .The sedan is a big car and is usually a preferred style for executive cars.
Hatchbacks on the other hand is considered an entry level car for Indians at-least and most of us take the plunge with a hatchback. BTW hatches arent all that cheap if you were to consider the i20 and Jazz.

As per me for the budget I had, a fully loaded hatchback with all the bells and whistles makes sense then a bare body sedan..
Especially in Indian market a hatchback with ABS , Airbags and most security features costs as much as a bare body sedan with limited features... So i preferred a top end i20 Asta..