Everyone knows what a sports car is. But have you heard about its half-sibling, the sports sedan? It wants to have its cake and eat it, too. But what makes sports sedans different from ordinary sedans and sports cars?
A sports sedan combines the best features of its namesake vehicles. It retains many practical features in a sedan, such as four doors for easy access to all seats and comfortable interiors with plenty of conveniences.
Simultaneously, a sports sedan incorporates the high performance that defines sports cars. It accelerates faster, maneuvers more adroitly, and responds better to your controls than a standard sedan. While it can’t match a full-fledged sports car, a sports sedan delivers a more thrilling driving performance that will make your heart pound faster.
Let’s look at the characteristics that sports sedans share with standard sedans and sports cars:
First is performance and power. Sports sedans are for people who want to feel like they’re behind the steering wheel of a sports car without giving up the advantages of a sedan.
Typical sedans concentrate on keeping their occupants comfortable with many conveniences. They also emphasize fuel efficiency, sacrificing performance for mileage.
While sports sedans generally offer plenty of comfort and conveniences, they also perform and handle better on the road. They achieve these with performance enhancements like more powerful engines, turbochargers that further boost output, better drivetrains, and streamlined external parts.
You can see the performance difference by comparing the sports sedan with the baseline model. The non-hybrid versions of the 2025 Honda Civic sedan have a 150-hp 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a continuously variable automatic transmission.
Meanwhile, the 2025 Honda Civic Si sports sedan has a more powerful turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 200 hp. It also has a six-speed manual transmission that shifts between gears more crisply than its automatic counterpart.
Sports sedans also heavily prioritize equipment and systems related to their handling on the road. While they can’t match the responsiveness of sports cars, sports sedans have superior handling compared to sedans.
The suspension of a sports sedan features performance parts that work better than stock parts. Furthermore, chassis systems like the drive axle system, steering, and tires are tuned to improve their responsiveness. Working together, these enhanced systems enable a sports sedan to effectively tackle curves and corners.
Car manufacturers designed sedans with smooth and pleasant rides. In comparison, they intended sport sedans to handle and steer better, especially when making sharp turns at high speeds. Thus, sports sedans have a complex suspension setup with features like a steering system tuned for high performance, lower ride height that increases stability, and stiffer springs.
The sport-tuned suspension makes a significant contribution to how sports sedans outperform ordinary sedans. It stabilizes the car during abrupt turns around sharp corners without slowing down. The optimized suspension also helps prevent body roll, keeping the driver and passenger safe while cornering.
Adaptive dampers are another vital feature in some sports sedans. They adjust their damping ability to match the driver’s habit and the road’s condition. For daily driving on straight roads, adaptive dampers cancel out the maximum force possible for the smoothest ride. On twisting roads, the dampers allow more force to reach the steering wheel. The driver can feel the feedback better, enabling them to respond faster.
At first glance, sports sedans resemble the sedan models they derive from. However, the sportier vehicles usually have distinguishing features that set them apart from their half-siblings.
Sports sedans have a wider stance and sit closer to the ground for more stability. Their front end might have larger air intakes, a bigger front bumper, a striking front grille, and other features and parts that show they’re not the average sedan. Some sports sedans have broader fenders and exhaust tips with multiple tubes.
Many manufacturers add accessories that make the sports sedan look sleeker. Side skirts and spoilers are only two of the streamlining devices that car makers and drivers add to the car.
The sports sedan’s unique design elements don’t simply make it look good. They also contribute to the car’s enhanced performance. The aerodynamic streamlining parts reduce the effect of friction on the vehicle’s surface. Meanwhile, larger air intakes let more air flow into the engine bay to cool the engine.
When you occupy the driver’s seat of a sports sedan, you often feel like you’re hopping into an aircraft cockpit. You’re looking at devices that cater to the driver’s unique needs, such as instrumentation gauges that show the car’s performance metrics.
The sport sedan’s interior reinforces the cockpit theme through selected design elements and the use of premium materials. It often has sport seats with integrated headrests that support the driver’s head and neck when going fast and turning hard. The sports seats might have other features, such as decorative stitching and extra bolstering.
Other technologies found in sports sedans include the following:
Drivers can use these features to adjust their sports sedan’s driving experience according to their preferences.
The sports sedan achieves its high performance and aggressive appearance at a commensurate price. It usually has a higher price tag than the base sedan model. However, it still costs less than most sports cars.
Do you want sporty performance and a price tag you can afford? Here are some bargain-friendly sports sedan models:
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