Why did you choose Sedan or Hatchback?

[Sonic Boomer]

Well, my Sonic ordered on 11/3/11 went to event status 3000 on 11/8/11 and is still there today.
After 2 months with no progress, I am a bit frustrated. Fortunately I am under no obligation to buy it when it arrives.
I ordered because 1.4T Sonics were not in circulation; but now, I think I can find one locally that suits me.

At this point, I'm not real strongly decided either way between the hatchback and the sedan and would really appreciate input on your preference and why.
Thanks!

 

[wasteoffilm]

Not that it was a lie, but I kept telling the salesman I needed a hatch to toss my mountain bike in. He tried pushing me on a Cruze early on, no thanks. I'm a fan of station wagons, so this little hatch does it for me. Some aspects of the styling are a little odd at certain angles, but much more my style than the sedan.

I think the sedan looks damn good in the dark grey in this angle.

Too bad you can't buy one. Also, I strongly dislike the sedan's taillights.

 

[Wolfshield]

I think it's just a preference thing. I got the sedan because I'm not a huge fan of five door hatches. I like little 3 door hatches. And I really like the way the lines on the sedan go straight from the tail lights all the way to the front. With the stance of the car it really gives it an aggressive posture. To each his own though.

I need to get a spoiler on mine to complete the look. This is one of the pictures that made up my mind for sedan:
SEMA 2011: Chevrolet Sonic Customs and Concepts Photo Gallery - Autoblog

 

[SereneDroid]

Having not yet purchased a Sonic, I still haven't made a final decision as I tend to sway a bit back and forth.

My only negative towards the Sedan is that the rear end looks like my moms 04 Camry, but squished horizontally a bit. I can't imagine pulling into her driveway with a 8 yr newer car and thinking how similar they look from the street.

I have never been a fan of hatches, but this one wins me over. It looks modern enough without abandoning the principles of a hatch. While the seats may not fold as flat as a truck bed, you still have the option of carrying awkwardly sized objects when necessary. Being 6-3, I like that I can walk under the open hatch without fracturing my skull like I did on a Honda Fit the other day. When I look at the Hatch from the rear I see an improved remake of the 98-02 Ford focus hatch rear-end, which was the defining hatch of my 23 yr old life, especially when I was in high school. Either your parents bought you a Mercedes/BMW or you got a Ford Focus Hatch (still trying to figure out how I ended up with a Ford Ranger). Of course my view might be skewed as our school was locally known as the rich white whores & pot-heads... irregardless a mouthful nonetheless.

Either way, I suggest you make a pros/cons list for both. whichever has a superior ratio is the one you might prefer. For me, the balance came out so that when I do go to buy, if they don't have a Hatch with the requirements I seek, I'll take a Sedan if its built with what I want.

 

[BoG233]

Hatch Backs RULE !!!! Thats all I'm saying

 

[fivespeed302]

I don't like the look of the hatch, looks like some kid's car to me. I also don't like having my passengers sitting with 3 inches of cushion, glass, and steel protecting them from the jackass tailgating me. I like having a trunk where I can lock my firearms and other valuables in. I can't wait for my Silver Ice Metallic 1LT Turbo 6MT sedan to arrive from the factory.

 

[BoG233]

I don't like the look of the hatch, looks like some kid's car to me. I also don't like having my passengers sitting with 3 inches of cushion, glass, and steel protecting them from the jackass tailgating me. I like having a trunk where I can lock my firearms and other valuables in. I can't wait for my Silver Ice Metallic 1LT Turbo 6MT sedan to arrive from the factory.

I dig what your saying with the locking stuff in a trunk .

 

[fivespeed302]

Not that I break the law, but the police need a search warrant to search your trunk. They can search your entire hatchback though.

 

[2FR35H]

Put it simply, I do not absolutely do not like the look of hatch back though a lot of you have some nice hatches but its not my thing. Actually i didn't even intend on buying a sonic, initially i saw the commercial and ads a couple of times on the net about the bungee jump and the sky diving and thought it was cool but I never thought id be actually driving it lol

i originally went to go to my dealer to check out the cruze for all its luxury but i was in need of financing so i wanted something cheap and just as good then he told me about this car and test drove it, from then on after the test drive i fell in love with it and financed it. I wish i had the 1.4T or the LT model in the least as manual windows sucks at times and i want a sun roof but i have the 2LS and its a love story. gonna just go with adding them in myself later ;}

 

[leaky]

In the case of the Sonic, they took a Sedan and cut the back off to design a hatch, or added a trunk on a hatch - god knows. Regardless, same car, just +/- that rear end.

The most major issue I see is cost. Is the hatch worth $1000 to you?

Cosmetics are in the eye of the beholder. I sway back and forth on that.

Both cars allow the seats to be folded forward, although the hatch has the compartment a bit raised in the rear so the back of the seat folded down is flush with the rear compartment - just cosmetics but looks nicer if you will normally keep the rear seat folded.

Hatches can have more of a turbulence issue on the highway. It's just not an ideal shape.

Practically what you get from a hatch is the ability to load large objects, like a big TV, into a small car.

A Sedan gets you a bit more space, both in the sense of cubic feet and you also might fit something like a full 8 foot 2X4 in a trunk model that wouldn't work in a hatch. My 130 class tuna rods have a much better chance of fitting in the sedan ..

Anyway, I went sedan. To me cosmetics between the two I can't decide. Functionality similarly ups and downs, although I've got a truck and everyone I know owns a truck I can use, so this is a vehicle meant to move myself only in practical terms.. Given that it comes down to cost, for $1000 I'd prefer to put that into something like options, upgrades, or a set of 18 inch ultra low profile summer tires on rims leaving the 17's for winter tires, that would be better for me than a hatch for $1000 etc..

Jon

 

[robd53]

I chose sedan. I've always like the sedans over hatches except in the Ford Fiesta's case.

We looked at a hatch and I thought the cargo area was really small. It is taller and more versatile if you need to carry big things, but we have a van for that. The sedan has a pretty big trunk, I think more cargo space than the hatch actually.

Hatch has more rear headroom for backseat passengers... but I rarely have those so that doesn't matter to me either.

Personal preference. Didn't hurt that it was like 1,000 cheaper too.

 

[Katie:)]

personally, i originally chose sedan because it offered more rear leg room (i'm 5'9 boyfriend is 6'2 brother is 6'3 friends are all tall...) went to the dealer and they couldn't find what i wanted and wouldn't order it so i went to another dealer that had the sedan just not in the color i wanted and saw the hatch that was everything i wanted minus being sedan. but hey, my boyfriend and I are trying to start a family so my hatch will be much easier to get a stroller in and out of

 

[wingman]

I chose hatch basically for aesthetics. To me it looks better than the sedan. Realistically I probably would have had a little more room with the sedan, but room wasnt my concern since I dont carry more than 3 adults or 2 adults and 2 babies. Speaking of babies, I can get one mega stroller in with one baby, or two cheapy $14 strollers from wally world with two babies. Either way, for me the hatch worked for my hauling needs.

 

[Sonic]

I'm usually a hatch guy, with former hatch cars being a Nissan 300ZX, Mitsu eclipse, VW Gti, Nissan 350Z, and most recently a WRX. But I just couldn't bring myself to like the styling of the Sonic hatch. That's why I went with a sedan and I haven't regretted it once.

 

[Malvino89]

my big reason of choosing the Hatch over the sedan was the styling. It for some reson looks more aggressive than the sedan (comes with my age, 22, i guess) but i really dislike the sedans tail lights. The hatch also as stated above has better storage space for things like a TV and such... If the sedan had similar black housed tail lights as the hatch...idk which i would have chose...

 

[keto06]

One thing that hasnt been mentioned in here is the rear headroom of the hatch. Also the weight. I want a hatch but I will miss the security of a closed trunk

 

[theenico]

I've always been a hatch guy. I like the versatility that has already been mentioned.

 

[vinnycag]

I agree with you leaky. To one's preference and needs. The way I look at it, $1080 more in my pocket.
I am no kid and preferred the sedan over the hatch. More of the younger people are buying the hatch.
Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my car to arrive at the dealer. I ordered it on 11/3/2011. It was shipped 1/5/2012 so it should be any day now. Inferno Orange Metallic, 1LTZ sedan, 1.4 turbo 6 speed manual. I decided to go with the turbo because I never had one before and it offers slightly more power (better mpg as well).
I also do have some kid left in me. I may be older (48), but I am not that old.

 

[Malvino89]

I agree with you leaky. To one's preference and needs. The way I look at it, $1080 more in my pocket.
I am no kid and preferred the sedan over the hatch. More of the younger people are buying the hatch.
Unfortunately, I am still waiting for my car to arrive at the dealer. I ordered it on 11/3/2011. It was shipped 1/5/2012 so it should be any day now. Inferno Orange Metallic, 1LTZ sedan, 1.4 turbo 6 speed manual. I decided to go with the turbo because I never had one before and it offers slightly more power (better mpg as well).
I also do have some kid left in me. I may be older (48), but I am not that old.

i thought the only difference between the turbo and nonturbo models was the torque...as advertised it had the same mpg and HP.

 

[oldertech]

Hatch person here from way back, even though I'm not in the "young" category anymore. The ONLY complaint I have on the hatch, after driving it for just a few days is that I was surprised to hear wind noise that seems to be coming from the eyelid (top part) of the hatch. I don't remember hearing it in the other cars I test drove. Also, when you close the hatch, do you hear a bright "ding" kind of sound that seems to come from the spare tire area? It's like they needed more of their liquid sound deadening stuff or something? I guess I can add some Dynamat at some point. Just hoping my example isn't missing something it was supposed to come with.