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Originally Posted by Run Silent
Attributes that would increase the chance of a vehicle being classified as a "sports sedan" at least a "sporty sedan".
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Adjectives describing a 'sports sedan'.
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I'd say you've successfully identified some traits that make a vehicle fun to drive.
An issue I see here is that there is a lot of subjectivity wrapped up in these terms, attributes, and qualities, and that has potential to make for a rather less than practical definition for a generic term like "sport sedan". Now, at the same time, I would acknowledge that, unlike with a sports car where we can fairly easily give it an objective set of traits (as I did in a prior post), it's a little more tough to nail down exactly what a sport sedan is. That being said, we can at least say what a sport sedan isn't by identifying intended product purpose. It's pretty easy, for example, to say that a Toyota Yaris is not a sport sedan based on the intent - it's built to be basic transportation. While it could be fun to drive, it certainly isn't built for performance. Similarly, we can agree that a Rolls Royce Ghost isn't a sport sedan. Oh sure, it can get up and move, but it is clearly built as a car to be chauffeured around in, not thrown around on a country road.
Somewhere in between those two poles we have a group of sedans we can call sport sedans. But where do we draw the line? I don't know exactly, but I would say that dividing a group of vehicles which clearly comprise the same vehicle class due to the fact that one make/model happens to execute a little better than another has little value. Now a particular trim level of a given vehicle could be included while another wouldn't be - that makes sense. But to divide up a segment where two vehicles have the same or similar technical specs and intentions would seem to be highly agenda driven no matter how one slices it up.
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List of cars I would consider more sporty and more fun to drive than the everyday 3 series:
Alfa Romeo Giula 2.0T
Ford Focus ST (I know it's no longer available in the USA)
MINI Hardtop S or JCW
MB CLA45
VW GTi (I know it's not technically a sedan)
Honda Civic Si
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Some of those aren't sedans, but at any rate, I do agree that some of those vehicles might very well be more fun to drive than a 3 Series or other BMW sedan.
That being said, going back to my earlier point, I don't see a compelling reason to keep these vehicles' direct competitors off the list of sport sedans. A big reason for that is that I don't know how you can do that without employing some corporate bias. I am not saying you have to include a Toyota Corolla since (or if) Toyota does not build a version of that car that intends to compete against the Civic Si. But, you've got the Giulia 2.0 on that list so, for example, we would have to add any other small RWD premium sedan since that's the segment where that car competes. It was built to take on (and perhaps outdo dynamically - that may very well be) the usual suspects from Germany and Japan, and Korea now too with the Genesis G70 being the only one left with a manual transmission option.
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Again - this is just my opinion, as well all know, but it's how I feel. BMW still builds amazing cars and I thoroughly enjoy most of their offering, but let's be honest here - they really are just fancy Camry these days. I've driven a Lexus and BMW back to back before, and can say - that in my opinion - the BMW was no more sporty.
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I have no doubt that a contemporary 3 Series is no more sporty than a Lexus IS. We can still call the IS, the 3 Series, and every single car in that class a "premium sport sedan" because that's exactly what they were built to be, and when you compare them to a sedan that is expressly not a sport sedan, the Yaris or Ghost I mention earlier, for example, every one in the class is going to bury them in the fun department. Is there a class winner and class loser? You bet. Does BMW bring up the rear in this case? Maybe they do - I honestly don't know. But just as the worst team in the league is still included on the schedule, the worst car in the class is still on the market. If I go conduct a comparison test of all entry level luxury sport sedans, I better include everybody otherwise its an exercise with no chance of carrying any credibility.