Don’t get AWD
@nicksaiz65 unless you live up in the mountains or hills. AWD is a mostly a rip off and waste of money. AWD just burns through gas and tires quicker.
In most areas, AWD won't be useful all that much. In most of the Sun Belt states, it's only useful 5 days a year or less.
The two brands most associated with AWD are Audi and Subaru. Audi is a luxury product whereas Subaru is more mass marketed.
It's not the AWD that makes Subaru popular. It's the dog carrying capabilities.
If you look at Subaru sales, the two most popular models are the Outback and the Forester. Those are unibody constructed crossovers with wagon style trunks. Subaru has the Legacy sedan, which is the same general body style as the Outback crossover wagon. Both the Legacy and Outback have AWD. If it were solely about AWD, Legacy and Outback sales would be similar. The Outback drastically outsells the Legacy because of the wagon body style which is more dog friendly than a sedan trunk.
Many more people now have pets, that's what makes crossovers so popular. The Millennials (born 1981/82-1996) are the most pet crazed generation ever. Crossovers became the most popular body style of car (see below) between 2000-2018, mostly taking market share from sedans and SUVs. This trend happened as more and more Millennials became car owners.
Over the past 20 years, a new type of vehicle called a ‘crossover’ has quietly taken over the automotive industry. Crossovers have grown from under…
advocacy.consumerreports.org
I like the sedan body style a lot but it appears to be a dying segment. In terms of mass brands, the Camry, the Accord, and the Nissan Altima are the only viable ones. The Big 3 American automakers phased out sedans many years ago. It's a not well selling product for Subaru. I think the Mazda 3 does well, but I perceive more hype around Mazda's CX crossovers than the 3 sedan.
BMW used to be a primarily sedan company. They had sporty sedans (3 Series), mid-sized sedans (5 Series), and full sized luxury sedans (7 Series). Their model line became more complex by adding the X Series sedans.
Sports cars are awesome too, but fewer of those are sold. Chevrolet is discontinuing the Camaro after the 2024 model, partially due to declining sales and partially due to the fact that GM is a cucked company. Ford is still keeping the Mustang. Porsche diversified away from traditional sports cars.