Modern Pain: Life as We Know It.
It isn’t just headroom though. Ride quality has also gotten a good deal harsher in modern sedans than they used to be. Why is that? Simple, people want better handling cars. One of the ways you achieve this is through better (stiffer) suspension.
Prime example: Last year, during a Trip to the East Coast we got a Chrysler 300C (V6) as a rental car. During that trip, I came to find that while the seats were very comfortable. The suspension was also (normally) very nice too, typically feeling like you were just gliding over the road.
However, on some of the bumpier roads, the suspension did make the car jiggle around a little bit. The car handled exceptionally well for a 2-ton car, but the price for that a slightly stiffer suspension than expected (in rough road situations). Compared to the VW Tiguan we just got and the suspension feels a fair bit softer, handling is just as good but not as stiff. Don’t think it’s because Colorado has better roads either, we’ve been in some fairly bumpy roads in the Tiguan and it soaked them up just fine.
We, as the consumers cause that stiffer suspension in normal cars though. We want better handling and the automakers are complying to our wants and needs by giving us just what we asked for. The downside? We don’t understand what that want and or need is going to make us sacrifice.
Back in the day, you’d get a Sedan over an SUV (because CUVs weren’t really a thing back then) or a “Crossover” because it had better, less “floaty” handling. My Dad’s 2000 Dodge Durango has very floaty handling. Especially when the springs get worn, then the front bounces up and down before settling evenly on the road. Even if you managed to avoid a high-riding vehicle with floaty handling, you still had a vehicle that was just that. High-riding. This was a disadvantage because anyone who knows anything about physics (or at the very least, stayed somewhat awake in their physics class) will know that a taller vehicle is going to have a higher center of gravity. That higher center of gravity makes the high-riding vehicle have an even greater disadvantage in the turns. As it’s more likely to roll over.
Combine the physics with the less than sporty suspension and you have the perfect makings for something not really suitable for Tail of The Dragon. This was a big selling point for Sedans, they could be just as comfortable as they’re high-riding cousins but without the handling drawbacks. Now though? It’s hard to say that SUVs and CUVs (don’t forget the Crossovers) ride particularly awfully when compared to their older brethren. Add in the stiffer suspension modern Sedans have and you get a vehicle that handles more than well enough for the average person and is comfortable enough to suit even their grandmothers. “I say, my old MkII Cortina never rode this well.”
Or for us Americans: “My Nissan Sentra wasn’t this soft on the bumps.” The advantages Sedans once held just isn’t there anymore. Or at the very least, isn’t prominent enough for people to choose them over CUVs. Here’s another thing to consider.