There's an interesting trend happening with these lower-end sedans at the moment in that they're all starting to look quite well-proportioned. I think it's because the segment has grown so much they're now as big as regular sedans used to be so you don't get the weird scrunched-up look that they've had for the last decade or two.
This might be a bit off topic, but this trend really annoys me. I suppose it's been happening since compact vehicles have been around, so it's nothing new. But the new Civic Sedan, for instance, is as big or larger than every accord made before 1997.
"Our new Civic has more interior volume! ....
because we made it bigger" has been essentially been the mantra every new generation of compact cars since the beginning. Well ok, fine, but isn't the Civic just a midsize car now? Then they introduce a subcompact that is the size of the original compact but want to move the entire "compact" segment into a different jurisdiction. Whatever the case, it's safe to say compact cars are not "compact" anymore.
Looking at the dimensions only tells part of the story though. Because while the 2018 Civic Sedan is dimensionally similar to the 1997 Accord Sedan, it actually looks
way bigger because the massing is so heavy. Safety, rigidity, refinement, technology, etc. I get it. I blame the front offset crash test most, because it makes the structural members along the front wing/fender huge which results in these awkward joint areas near the windshield where it looks almost like a suit of armor. The remedy in this compounds the problem because you have to make the body work large enough to hide it. So in the end you end up with a large car that is puffier than it needs to be, usually on proportionally-small weedy looking wheels & tires. That
any car markers succeed in making compact and subcompact cars look good is a testament to their skill.
