What exactly makes a car "sporty" and makes crossovers not sporty?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Take these two cars for example

  • Renault Clio II RS 172 FWD 172hp
  • Seat Ateca 2.0 TSI AWD 190hp

The Renault has a 7.2 sec 0 to 60mph and is considered a hot hatch.

The Seat has a 7.0 sec 0 to 60mph and is…not considered a performance car, plus there’s even a stronger 300hp Cupra version. BMW X1 F48 with 28i engine is another example with 231hp and a 6.5 sec time.

There’s also wagons like the Audi Avants which are considered sporty.

So what is it exactly that can make hatchbacks and wagons, even if they are just fwd, be considered “performance cars”, but not crossovers that are equally fast or even faster?

Rolling in the bends? True for most crossovers, but not for smaller ones with stiff suspension like the Ateca or BMW X1.

Aerodynamics? Even the relatively larger Tiguan II (not allspace) has a 0.34 drag coefficient, which is less than the 0.35 of a Clio II I mentioned in the start. The X1 goes all the way to 0.28, which is impressive compared to older crossovers like first gen Tiguan that had 0.37.

The “soccer mom car” stereotype that surrounds them? This could be said for Avant wagons too, yet isn’t.

Not being RWD? Most Audi’s are not RWD, even many modern performance BMW’s aren’t RWD, yet they are still considered sporty.

I really don’t know what other arguments can be made that are relevant for latest gen crossovers not being as sporty as wagons.

2

I think it is as simple as “it doesn’t look sporty”.

3

Attitude of the Driver.

I routinely pass people in my 30-40 year old cars (uphill!) with a big grin on my face.

= Sporty

4

^ This. Also, if you’ve ever driven a car where you can accelerate around corners, as opposed to worrying about tipping over.

5

My electric Ford SUV is plenty freaking sporty. Honestly, it’s even sportier than the 2017 Ecoboost Mustang that I had.

The thing is, I would dispute the “SUV” label that marketing folks like to apply to cars like this, because to me, it’s just a small car.

6

What the marketing department thinks will sell the car.

7

It’s unfair to label crossovers as not sporty, when many of them are. But on the whole, if you choose to buy a crossover over a similar sedan, you are choosing more internal volume and easier ingress over performance. Given a similar chassis and power train, the crossover’s extra weight will degrade every performance metric: acceleration, handling, fuel mileage, and braking. The added height (and center of gravity) further degrades every performance metric vs a car made by the same manufacturer with the same power train and components.

This is evident in my own garage. We have Tesla Models Y and 3, same trim level, same batteries, same motors. The 3 car brakes, turns, and accelerates better than the crossover Y. It also goes farther on a given charge.

8

You’ll have to forgive some of my facts here as neither of these cars were available in North America. I believe it’s a bit of an unfair comparison, as the Clio RS II was first released in 1999, and the Seat Ateca was first released in 2016. The Clio would have faired better in straight-line performance against its “non-Sporty” contemporaries. Direct injection and advances in turbo technology have really allowed normal cars to have a lot more horsepower than they did 20 years ago.

I haven’t dug into the gearing, but a lot of sporty cars suffer in terms of 0-60 times because 2nd gear tops out short of 60, requiring a 2nd shift to complete the test. Non-sporty cars with longer gearing can generally do it in 2nd gear which sometimes skews the comparison.

The Renault weighs approximately 2500 lbs, whereas the Seat is probably in the range of 3300. While the Seat’s AWD and better power/torque allow it to accelerate slightly better, it’s unlikely (I can’t find anyone who track tested an Ateca) that it would stop or handle anywhere near as well.

Mostly, though, those 800 lbs of extra weight are going to make it feel very different to drive. There’s a certain je nais se quois to cars. A lot of it is weight, but it’s also steering ratio, tire feedback, body roll, sound… a lot of things go into make a car put a smile on your face. There’s so much more to it than 0-60.

9

There is. I think the first paragraph in the post by ‘Capn_Carl’ above was a very concise answer to the basic question, and he did refer to handling and other metrics.

10

That’s the thing, isn’t it? In my opinion, most modern “crossovers” are essentially station wagons, perhaps with a somewhat taller stance than the wagons of yesteryear. And the smaller ones are pretty much hatchbacks as far as I’m concerned. But the marketing folks apply the “SUV” label to them, because that’s what sells.

11

I think Only in America most sports cars have automatic transmission .

12

That’s increasingly true, though it’s still possible to buy many sportier cars (even those from U.S. automakers) with a standard (manual) transmission. For example, you can still buy a new Ford Mustang or a Chevrolet Camaro with a stick.

But, because automatic transmissions have become so prevalent in the U.S., a lot of U.S. drivers (particularly younger drivers) have never driven a manual transmission, and most auto models (save for sporty/performance cars, and some entry-level models) don’t even offer a manual transmission, and haven’t for decades.

That said, automatic transmissions have also become much better in recent decades, to the point that some performance cars don’t even offer sticks anymore – the current iteration of the Corvette, for example, is only available with a dual-clutch automatic transmission, with paddle shifters on the steering wheel.

13

What makes a car “sporty” is the handling more so than the acceleration - the feeling of “oneness with the vehicle”, often considered maximized by operating a stick shift by “enthuisast drivers”.

The lighter weight, a lower center of gravity, and “enough power to make that fun” is what makes a car “sporty” (note: that is not the same as a “sports car”, which has overtones of racing for pink timing slips at a track, or a “race car” like a WRX designed for rally racing).

Sure, there’s a certain baseline expectation of “oomph” (the technical term) to have a fun and sporty experience, especially in terms of passing power (not necessarily “drag racing from a dead stop” 0-60 mph or 100 kmph type power), but really it’s about the handling. Hence the saying that “it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow” (grammar be damned).

Past a certain point that you will immediately reach, driving a supercar like a Maclaren on a public road is more frustrating than fun. But slinging a lightweight roadster with the top down in gorgeous clear weather up and over the Tioga Pass of the Sierra Nevada will put a smile on your face while never exceeding 35-40 MPH. Or any winding back road.

So what makes a “crossover” less sporty than a comparable hatchback or wagon? Well, as the OP points out, there are some crossovers designed to be sporty: tighter suspension, more power. But they’ll still ride higher, and weigh more.

They’re starting out as “small SUVs” and then made sporty, rather than a car that started out sporty (as a small sedan) and then made more practical (with a hatchback or wagon rear).

Take two cars in the current Hyundai lineup, both bearing their performance “N” badge, with very similar performance bits (engine and suspension). I personally would not go for either of these vehicles myself as a new car, but it gives insight into how a major car manufacturer is positioning these two that are clearly cousins:

Hyundai Kona N = 276 hp, 165.9" L x 70.9" W; MSRP about $35,800
DCT automatic (no manual); Height: 61.0"; Curb weight: 3,340 lbs; ground clearance: 6.7"

Hyundai Sportster N = 275 hp, 167.9" L x 71.3" W; MSRP about $33,500
Optional six-speed manual; Height: 54.9"; Curb weight: 3,186 lbs.; ground clearance: 5.3"

Now the way the buying public in the US is today, overwhelmingly the “more ground clearance” SUV/CUV body style (esp. with AWD) is the popular choice. Everybody imagines wanting to go off the road at some point, or to want to drive up and over a curb or through deep water that might belly out a sedan.

This even as the cargo space is actually slightly greater in the Veloster than in the Kona!

14

It used to be that manual transmissions offered better acceleration and fuel economy than an automatic. But automatics have improved so much in the past decade or so that is no longer the case. Today it’s pretty much the opposite; a modern dual clutch automatic typically delivers better performance than a manual. The only real reason to get a manual nowadays is simply personal preference. And I guess purchase price.

15

What happens when all/most sports cars are electric? Are we going to put “manual” transmissions in them just to please people who think they’re needed? I’m not sure what we’d have it control, but maybe it could serve as something fun.

16

Toyota actually recently patented a manual transmission, or at least something like a manual transmission, for EVs. I have hears rumors that Toyota may bring back an MR2 like car as an EV, so I wonder if this is related.

17

How can you, manually or automatically, change gears when the transmission does not include any gears? Or does “gearless” mean something else in that context?

18

If I understand the patent correctly, it sounds like there aren’t any real gears, but moving the gearshift changes the amount of torque the electric motor produces, which simulates the feel of a manual transmission. Or if you don’t want to shift, you can put it in “gearless” mode and the car operates like a normal EV.

19

There are certain things that you can do to pretty much any vehicle to make it more sporty. E.g.:

  1. Reduce the weight
  2. Bump up the power
  3. Lower the ride
  4. Make it stick to the road better, through manipulation of downward air force.
  5. Improve the coefficient of drag
  6. Stronger, more hardcore breaks

If you’ve taken a Volvo people mover and done those six things to it, you will have created the sporty version of the Volvo people mover.

From advertising’s perspective, so long as you’ve done the first two, you’ve probably achieved a sporty version. #3 is cheap and easy to do and #4 makes it look extra radical so those tend to be the next most likely to be added on to turn it into a sporty vehicle. 5 and 6 probably only happen if someone is actually making a race car.

If you only do #2, and have the car stay heavy with heated seats and TVs in the back, it’s a luxury vehicle not a sporty vehicle, regardless of whether it can go faster than a “sports car”.

20

I was going to say “handling”, how much you can push it around corners, in and out of traffic. So it’s not any numbers, like speed or acceleration.

Also how it sounds… but especially how it FEELS!

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…which all leads to the perfect answer: