Evolving Silhouettes of the Automotive Landscape

Chapter 3- The Sneacar Era

Word – Sneacar

Definition – Noun
A childish amalgamation of the terms Sneaker and Car choosen due to its closely resemblance to the common footwear.

Now coming to our present-day situation, Coupe SUVs, 4-door coupes are all a common sight on our roads today and its clear that no matter how much petrol heads like us (or gearheads depending on your philosophical bend) scream and cry, the fact remains that the everyday consumer is infatuated by the idea of a vehicle that can do it all, because people want more, not just from there cars but from every aspect of there lives, a trait that’s hardwired into the human psyche.

Building on that, one motoring legend by the name of Carol Shelby found this out the hard way when he made the GT350 Mustang and his loyal customer base who wanted a racecar for the road in the first place started complaining to him, about how uncomfortable it was. He quickly realized that people didn’t need a street-legal racecar, instead, all they wanted was a luxurious and sporty muscle car with tones of power that could do it all.

This stands true even today and as a result, I’d like to present to you the future of automotive body styles, the “faststationwagon”. Sounds like serious infestation doesn’t it, something that you’d spray for, or as I like to call it, the “sneacar”. 

Recently both Ford and Citroën introduced two very similar-looking cars. Let’s start with the Ford Evos, shall we? This isn’t the first time Ford has used the Evos name, it was back in 2011 that Ford introduced the Evos concept (designed by Stefan Lamm), a PHEV coupe that looked like a Mustang straight out of 2045 and it was a stunning looking vehicle, to say the least. 

Now the new Evos which is a production-ready car aimed at the Chinese market bears very little resemblance to the original concept but it’s not hard to see how the concept lends some of its design cues to this “Senacar”. The Evos is a glimpse into the brand’s future designs, technology, and marketing strategies and according to Ford “The Evos has been described as a mix between a crossover and a fastback or station wagon due to its low-slung proportion”. The design is reminiscent of the recently unveiled Ford Equator and no matter how much you criticize the jack of all trades design, it’s hard to call this a bad-looking automobile. The Evos is going to be a very crucial product for Ford, and the features that you see on this concept including the massive touchscreen slab and the coupe, crossover, SUV body style are all here to stay.

Now moving to the French, they are a step ahead of the Americans. Amidst a grand merger and formation of yet another automotive giant, Stalantis (which is the merger of PSA and FCA), Citroën has managed to launch their all-new C5-X amidst the pandemic. This new “sneacar”, also tries to be the jack of all trades by merging 3 of the most popular body styles and unlike the Evos, you can go ahead and buy one right now. 

Now talking about the C5-X, Citroen has put immense emphasis on the vehicle’s dynamics and comfort, by using an all-new dual-damper design which allows the springs to be softer than normal and that results in a very plush and cushy ride without having to sacrifice on stability. But most importantly Citroën is betting big on this coalescence of body styles as it is their flagship offering and virtually sits in the same segment as the 3-series and C-Class but has a completely different approach which is proof that auto manufacturers strongly believe that the “sneacar” ear is here to stay and cars like these are going to be a common sight on roads.