Don't Get An SUV!! Why Your First Car Should Be A Sedan! 

What was your first car?

I bought my first car last week, 2003 Lexus LS430 its an amazing V8 RWD 300hp luxury boat, best 6k I ever spent

never had an SUV and never will. I drive a little hatchback and i love it

Rant about car market / sedan/suv incoming, hope whoever reads this gets anything out of it: When me and my GF met back in 2018, we drove around in her 96' Nissan Micra (surprisingly spacious car, I had plenty of room in that thing at 6'4). Great car with only 93 000 miles on the clock. Her father is a mechanic, and once we moved in together we were given a 2002 Volvo V70 with about 205k miles on it. We drove that car from 2019-2023, putting 60k on it before it unfortunately - out of nowhere - failed the EU inspection and the workshop recommended we just totalled it because the cost would greatly exceed the cars value. Because of our living situation, we quickly needed a new car and ended up scrapping the car and buying a brand new 2023 VW ID.5 for $ 45K (Norwegian price). We assumed electric + SUV would be the obvious way to go for a young couple who expected children within the cars lifetime. Unfortunately we live in an apartment so were stuck charging at fast charging networks. Double unfortunately, we live way north so it gets super cold during winter. Summer consumption was like 14kWh/100km and winter was 28kWh/100km, with charging ranging from 145kWh/hour to 50kWh/hour. I didn't think too much of it until we were traveling and I drove a 2023 Toyota Rav4 PHEV. We drove 560km that weekend, and had at least 500km to go on that tank+battery before having to touch a gas station let alone a charger. This got me seriously reconsidering the electric car we had back at home. As I started to research vehicles, I first realized two brutal truths: 1. In Norway, there are almost no new cars being sold that aren't full electric (in 2023, fully electric cars was 80% of all new cars bought in Norway!). Meaning, if we wanted a hybrid (plug in or not), we had very limited options. The Rav4 / Suzuki A-Cross was more than $2k more expensive than the ID.5, and used prices on those cars were still crazy high, likely because of the fact that non electrical vehicles are being completely phased out at this point. 2. The price drop on a new electrical vehicle is insane. I mean I know buying a new car is always gonna have a painful drop, but this was way worse than anything ever before. At least $6-8k straight drop even at just 5k miles on the clock. Now, for the SUV vs Sedan part: In Tromsø, where I live, not buying a SUV is almost deemed as straight up irresponsible. EVERYONE drives a SUV, and almost everyone drive an electric SUV. If you see someone on the road NOT in a SUV, its because they have multiple cars and they just happen to be driving their non SUV vehicle. Because they'll be owning a SUV. So I assumed that yeah, we're gonna be wanting an SUV. I mean you can put so much stuff in it, right? Since buying used barely saved us anything with the ICE cars available, I figured we might as well buy new. I looked at the Rav4/Across and the Mazda CX-60, which even had a diesel option. Prices for these cars were about $70-90K, which was really, really starting to stretch our budget. Sure they would be future proof in terms of when we have kids, and they would feel like a substantial upgrade compared to the ID.5. But even as someone who isn't shy about spending money on nice things, it felt downright irresponsible. The monthly car payments would start getting into apartment rent territory! So, what about the good old Sedan? I grew up in sedans like the Volvo 740, and I remember my best friends father drove really nice executive saloons like the Audi A7. The boy in me certaintly wanted a sedan, and maybe they aren't as impractical as I thought? Either way, I knew I'd have a challenge convincing my girlfriend. She had really gulped down on the SUV kool-aid even more than I had. She immediately shut down the idea saying that the car had to be practical, we had to consider that we'd be having kids, moving stuff in it etc. Another bump in the road was the fact that while there were at least some non electrical SUV/CUV options around on the new car market, the sedan market was bone dry. The only exceptions were BMW M / Mercedes Benz AMG options at well over $100k. So used market it was. To my surprise, however, the used market for sedans was WAY cheaper than the used market for SUVs. A used RAV4 had barely dropped in price, meanwhile used sedans had their prices chopped to bits. I found a local $30k 2019 Mazda 3 sedan with 10k on the clock, and took it out for a test ride for a day. My girlfriend was extremely skeptical, but was willing to consider it because if we traded it in with the ID.5 at the dealership, we would would have a lower monthly fee. Then, something magical happened. It was as if my girlfriend woke up from a long, deep hypnosis. She got behind the wheel, drove it for a couple of minutes and said "wow, this drives much better than the ID.5". By the end of the ride, she said "lets just do it, lets get this car!". I was adamant that we make the right choice and kept our cool, but she just wanted to get the Mazda straight away. It was THAT much better to drive than the ID.5 While the Mazda is a nice car, it felt a bit cramped for me personally, especially getting in and out of the car. It also felt like a downgrade in terms of features. I could certaintly live with it, and we would've made the deal if not for the fact that another local hybrid sedan was available for test ride: A 2021 Lexus ES 300h F Sport. 15k on the clock, asking price $45k. Now this car in this trim was around $70k new. The dealer couldn't get this fantastic sedan off the lot! Nobody wanted it! We took it for a test ride and instantly fell in love. We took a brutal hit on selling the ID.5 (luckily, no trade in. My father and his GF bought it cash for around $1k below what we could've got if we sold it on the free market, but like $4k above trade in value). Luckily, the dealer took an even more brutal hit on this beautiful Lexus ES 300h. It couldn't have worked out nicer for us in the end. No more charging. A way nicer ride both inside and out, especially comfort and handling wise. Unbeatable reliability. What did we lose out on? Well... If we ignore the pros of owning an electrical car in Norway, considering we had to deal with an unacceptable con... Basically the only "downgrade" is trunk space. And we almost never fill our trunk with anything at all, especially not large objects. TL;DR: Electric cars and SUVs are completely dominating the Norwegian car market. I think people are doing themselves a disservice discounting both hybrid cars and sedans. There is much more car for your money, much less hassle and IMO a safer bet. Bonus point: Who knows whats around the corner for electric cars. You buy a VW ID.7 with 700km range today. In three years, the car might be unsellable because the 2027 ID.7 will have 1300km range and turbo hyper charging from 10-80% in 10 minutes. Or politicians turn around on the electrical car and starts insentivizing hybrids instead. If someone is insane enough to actually read this rant, and that person doesn't live in Norway: appreciate the fact that you can actually get new ICE sedans where you live. Because here in Norway, you can't!

I totally agree with all your points, just bought a new Camry gas sedan, not hybrid, It’s much easier to drive and handle, lighter in weight, moves and accelerates great, comfortable, looks good, no dislikes, etc., I was able to get a better price because it’s in less demand than a SUV. It’s not about the image.

Totally agree with you. But, I love the older small SUVs of the early 90s and 2000s like the Pathfinder or equivalent Infiniti QX4. I had the QX4 and it was nice to sit up a little higher and about the same width as a small truck and the length of a normal sedan. Great fun and they are cheap and reliable if you can find a good one.

My first car was a Toyota Camry 2002 4 cylinder great car the reason I sold it because I have a family problems so I join the army so I don’t get involved problem and start a my new life . Really miss my old car 😭

my first car was a 2006 acura tsx (my moms old car) and it had the old honda issue with the paint tearing. it was great though because it was an old car and meant that it wasnt too big of a deal if it got banged up a little bit, which did happen because people at my school drive like theyve never been behind the wheel of a car before. now i have a 2019 toyota camry. i didnt want an suv, i just dont see the point in owning one if im not going to use all the space it has also hearing that you live in la plata is awesome. i grew up in waldorf for half of my life, i dont live near md anymore but seeing you drive down charles street and 301 brought back a bunch of childhood memories.

I have a very large truck I use for utility reasons and to compensate for some of my shortcomings.

I would say get a 4 door hatchback with a decent trunk. hatchbacks do almost everything you would want an SUV for minus all the off-roading features that most people will never take advantage of. I bought a 15 year old Lexus es350 as my first car, needed some work but I learned how to do most of it myself. I just wanted a reliable and comfortable car and didn't care about getting something exciting or super sporty. im in my mid 30s now and I still love the car but in retrospect a hatchback with folding rear seats would have made certain life events much easier to manage.

Team low car myself. Snow is a poor excuse. I throw winters on my Accord and it does fine in the snow.

19 years old and my first car is a 97 Town Car, love the land yachts of the past!

Yes, agree, i have driven an SUV and i own a sedan, i am from Europe so things might differ, i drove a Toyota Hilux, Dacia Duster, Mercedes GLC and various vans if those count, on the SUV side i get the reason for the better ride over bumps but the lower top speed, higher fuel consumption and all around seating position are just awful. I own a Peugeot 407 and i drove a BMW 320d, Nissan Primera, Volkswagen Passat, Mercedes E420 CDI and all i can say is that a sedan at 130km/h is a relaxing ride opposed to the suv wich at that speed gets a lot of noise has higher fuel consumption and accelerates slower.

Im 18. My first car I bought 3 years ago is a 2004 lexus es330. Smooth, quiet, sharp, fast, and reliable.

Thrashing wagons and minivans is why we have so many SUVs. Parents nowadays are skipping minivans and going directly to a big truck LOL. Sedans, hatches and wagons are better with gas. I have a Highlander now and it handles poorly with blindspots in the front.

Keep it up

I absolutely agree with everything you said in this video. I’m 21 and I wish I grew up with the sedans you did man

My first two cars were ford explorers, now I just bought a brand new 2024 Mazda 3. Love my little car!

I'm sick of SUVS myself, the arguments people use for their practicality are absolutely not utilized as much as they pretend it is. I've sort of come around on SUVS though because they have big cabin space, they're high off the ground, they're super easy to get into, and they give you the illusion of safety.

Nah I'm a gen Z and I agree with you. Sedans are much more efficient, easier to maneuver, easier to clean, and much better in terms of space. Sure an SUV might look bigger but the boot space on sedans is wild. I'm from a country where road conditions are really bad so ground clearance is a big requirement. We had a Jetta but that used to scrape everywhere so we had to make the decision to switch to a bigger car. Instead of buying a big pointless SUV, we went for a MPV, a really popular one where we're from which is exactly what we needed. But in the United States, where roads are much smoother, sedans make so much more sense.

SUV or crossovers have replaced station wagons. With more comfort and room of course

this is the most random, unnecessary rant I've come across this year

My first car was a ‘07 Honda Accord. but, sadly, during the pandemic I had to sell it.

I think an issue is that the American big 3 aren't manufacturing hardly any sedans. Chrysler none, Ford none, and GM now none with the death of the Malibu. If you want something domestic, it has to be an SUV or truck nowadays.

I agree 100%. I'll never own an SUV, there's just no need unless my wife wants one. Even with a big family you're better off buying a van if a sedan like a Camry or an Accord doesn't cut it.

In the old days, whenever you see an SUV, you typically see multiple passengers. Those with a bigger family 4+ passengers were the ones buying an SUV while the ones with 1 -3 passengers typically owned a compact or midsized cars. Nowadays people just buy SUVs and crossovers just because its the trend. The guy who lives next door to me for example is a single middle aged guy but owns a late model GMC Yukon SUV. I don’t get why he got an 8 passenger vehicle even though he doesn’t need it. I came to conclusion that people like trends and whatever is popular must be a better option. Logical reasoning is not part of the equation when buying. Some people just want to be part of trend just because they can.

I love driving small car all the time. No SUV!!

1974 VW Superbeetle

I’ve never been a fan of suv, glorified mini buses. Big, heavy, slow, gas guzzlers just like a city bus

Electric vehicles are of the devil.