Is the non premium badged family saloon dead?
Discussion
...it seems everyone wants crossovers these days and the traditional three box saloon/hatch is dying....not helped IMO by the enormous size of the current Mondeo/Insignia type car which makes them a challenge to park...
..against this backdrop, sales of the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series are as strong as ever.
so are we seeing the death of the traditional mainstream family saloon/hatch?
If so I think its a shame...I don't quite get the fascination with Crossovers myself. Aside from their current trendiness, they are generally bulkier, slower and thirstier, like for like, than the equivalent hatchback or saloon. I am not even sure that they are roomier inside. It also means we will never see another niche saloon based car like an Accord Type R, Mondeo ST220 or EVO 6 again, which is sad in my book...
Many families these days carry all manner of s
te that our parents wouldn't have dreamed of needing in their Cortinas and Allegros. A family trip out theses days seems to be a military operation with enough crap to last a week and due to that a three box car doesn't fit the bill. Oh that and the perceived cachet of a more premium badge which means boggo 316 SE wins over top soec Ford etc
te that our parents wouldn't have dreamed of needing in their Cortinas and Allegros. A family trip out theses days seems to be a military operation with enough crap to last a week and due to that a three box car doesn't fit the bill. Oh that and the perceived cachet of a more premium badge which means boggo 316 SE wins over top soec Ford etc bristolracer said:
I was following a new shape Astra the other day and thinking how few you see these days.
Once upon a time they were every other car.
I watched some mouth breather get out of one earlier, having parked it right in the middle of a two car space on a very busy street. I thought much the same thing, but my thought was "what percentage of these are actually bought privately?". I bet it's about 25% at the most. Must be even lower for the Insignia.Once upon a time they were every other car.
dme123 said:
bristolracer said:
I was following a new shape Astra the other day and thinking how few you see these days.
Once upon a time they were every other car.
I watched some mouth breather get out of one earlier, having parked it right in the middle of a two car space on a very busy street. I thought much the same thing, but my thought was "what percentage of these are actually bought privately?". I bet it's about 25% at the most. Must be even lower for the Insignia.Once upon a time they were every other car.
I was sad to see the demise of the Honda Accord in the UK market, that was my favourite mainstream family saloon. Although I think it was Honda UK who really killed it by ridiculous pricing, trying to position it as a premium car - it was very well equipped, but no cheaper than premium German offerings, so didn't stand a chance. If it had been available in a slightly cheaper, more basic spec, it would have probably sold better. Even with the likes of Ford and Vauxhall, the only way they will sell a Mondeo or Insignia to a private buyer is by giving a hefty discount, suggesting that list prices are wildly unrealistic to say the least.
Wacky Racer said:
I think the concept of the three box car is on the way out. Many people, (not all obviously) want practicality these days, to be able to put say a chest of drawers or a new washing machine in the back, via the hatchback.
You do know that mondeos and insignias are hatchbacks?GreenArrow said:
...it seems everyone wants crossovers these days and the traditional three box saloon/hatch is dying....not helped IMO by the enormous size of the current Mondeo/Insignia type car which makes them a challenge to park...
..against this backdrop, sales of the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series are as strong as ever.
so are we seeing the death of the traditional mainstream family saloon/hatch?
If so I think its a shame...I don't quite get the fascination with Crossovers myself. Aside from their current trendiness, they are generally bulkier, slower and thirstier, like for like, than the equivalent hatchback or saloon. I am not even sure that they are roomier inside. It also means we will never see another niche saloon based car like an Accord Type R, Mondeo ST220 or EVO 6 again, which is sad in my book...
To answer your headline question - its not dead but its dying and has been for a long time...against this backdrop, sales of the Audi A4 and BMW 3 series are as strong as ever.
so are we seeing the death of the traditional mainstream family saloon/hatch?
If so I think its a shame...I don't quite get the fascination with Crossovers myself. Aside from their current trendiness, they are generally bulkier, slower and thirstier, like for like, than the equivalent hatchback or saloon. I am not even sure that they are roomier inside. It also means we will never see another niche saloon based car like an Accord Type R, Mondeo ST220 or EVO 6 again, which is sad in my book...
Makes Insignias and Mondeos as cheap as chips though.
poing said:
They've been dead for a while and even BMW and Audi can see this, they are making hatchback, people carrier and SUV versions of their range now.
This. Especially with respect to the actual saloons.Hatchbacks just give so much more flexibility, mainstream saloons have been dying out since the early 80's. Now there's so little difference in cost between the "premium" saloons (and hatches) and the mainstream stuff (before discount) that private buyers are much more likely to go for the aspirational product.
Those who need the flexibility also have other options these days too - Why have a large hatch like a Mondeo when you could have at least as much space from a C-Max or an S-Max, or something that looks more fashionable like a Kuga, even if it's (probably) less roomy inside.
I reckon saloons will still be around for a while, though - they're still very popular in the US, so those manufacturers who supply there will probably stick with them, for the time being anyway.
I've got an Accord Tourer Type S which I bought at 5 years old, but new it would have been £35k. That's an awful lot of money for a car that your neighbours would just see as a big Civic, then you'll get the "should have bought an S-line Audi" comments. I think the only chance mainstream "non premium" brands have got is funky crossovers and boring practical cars, but now the Germans are doing them and coupled with pcps where the difference between a 20k cat and 25k car is decided according to the monthly payment rather than finding another 5k most people want the better badge.
craigjm said:
Many families these days carry all manner of ste that our parents wouldn't have dreamed of needing in their Cortinas and Allegros.
Yup, like child seats. I used to slide all over the back of the Toyota Crown in 1978 but fast forward to 2016 and you need large rear seats and wide open doors to lift in and buckle up children. A large boot, with flat loading area, to place the modern Silver Cross. te that our parents wouldn't have dreamed of needing in their Cortinas and Allegros. gazzarose said:
I've got an Accord Tourer Type S which I bought at 5 years old, but new it would have been £35k. That's an awful lot of money for a car that your neighbours would just see as a big Civic, then you'll get the "should have bought an S-line Audi" comments. I think the only chance mainstream "non premium" brands have got is funky crossovers and boring practical cars, but now the Germans are doing them and coupled with pcps where the difference between a 20k cat and 25k car is decided according to the monthly payment rather than finding another 5k most people want the better badge.
Also this!Coupled with company car schemes that are no longer (as they were with my first employer) that you could pick what you liked from Vauxhall, Ford, Rover or (in later years) Volvo. Now it's an allowance to sort out your own deal, or lease anything up to x per month. Everybody seems to want niche vehicles these days, sooner or later, the mainstream saloon will become a niche!
I got rid of my MG ZT saloon for a Volvo V40 Cross Country. I have health problems with my spine so the ZT was a struggle to get in and out off and the boot was rather small height wise and not very wide which made putting walking frame into a struggle. The V40 has made life a lot easier and the boot is easier to work with and causes no problems.
I have considered after this lease to change to the Volvo SUV model. V40 is not that much smaller than a ZT on this inside but is so much easier to park.
We were looking at Range Rover Evoques this morning and they seem very well suited to our needs. Doubt I would buy a regular saloon again, unless it's an M5,A6 so forth.
I have considered after this lease to change to the Volvo SUV model. V40 is not that much smaller than a ZT on this inside but is so much easier to park.
We were looking at Range Rover Evoques this morning and they seem very well suited to our needs. Doubt I would buy a regular saloon again, unless it's an M5,A6 so forth.
slk 32 said:
I'd always put this down to people using PCP /leasing a lot more now and premium brands having better residuals so essentially you can get more for your money. A lot of people seem to want to change every 2 years to upgrade to the latest metal
How does this make sense from a supply demand point of view? Premium brand BMWs and Audis are more common than mondeos now so the residuals should surely drop as there is so much supply. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff