There’s a certain kind of car that makes you pause in the parking lot.

It's not the price. Or badge. Or spec sheet. But because it looks poised. Like it’s about to leap forward even when standing still. You might not be able to explain it, but you you think deeply, you’ll feel subtle tension, like a spring coiled beneath the surface. Designers in, different contexts, call this stance.

It’s the most under-appreciated tool in automotive design and one of the hardest to crack. The brands who truly get this don’t obsess over chrome lines and infotainment claims. They work on visual language to trigger something deeper, primal.

I didn’t plan on writing this post. But since we sold our car, I’ve been showing my wife different cars on the road and why they look unique and ‘great’ over others. It had very less to do with the price tag but just the design.

Let me explain.

1. What is stance, really?

Stance is how a car sits. Not just on its suspension but in your mind. It’s the output of track width (the distance between the wheels when you look at the car from the front or back), roof height (how tall the car is from the ground to the top of the roof), taper (how the car’s body narrows as you move from the middle towards the front and back), overhangs (how much the car extends beyond the wheelbase at the front and rear), and wheel-to-body ratios (how big the wheels look compared to the rest of the car’s body). 

In industrial design terms, it’s the visual equilibrium of form and proportion, and how the eye perceives tension and balance. Just like a product designer considers centre of gravity and volume-to-footprint ratio when designing, say, a speaker or a laptop, car designers have to juggle visual gravity, mass distribution, and negative space.

This done right evokes power, confidence, and speed. When done wrong, the car looks confused no matter what the badge says.

2. How the Macan, Urus and Q8 sportback nail It

There are others who nail it too but I mention these because I’ve observed them up-close the most. These SUVs have what I’d call a “crouching silhouette.” Their proportions do three things exceptionally well:

Wide track to roof ratio

The track (distance between wheels) is wide relative to the overall height. This creates a low centre of visual mass, similar to how consumer electronics use horizontal massing to feel premium (think Bang & Olufsen). Your eyes naturally perceive it as “grounded.”

Fastback silhouette

Both these SUVs taper aggressively from the roofline to the rear bumper, creating a coupe-like shape. The taper pulls visual weight down and inward, creating a more compressed rear volume. In design, this is called tumblehome. This is inherited term from shipbuilding that refers to inward curvature to enhance stability and elegance.

Short rear overhangs

The rear doesn’t extend far from the wheel. This tight packaging is actually years of trial to remove unnecessary bulk. You get a sense of motion, even at zero speed.

Meaty tyres and filled wheel arches

This is critical. Wheels that sit snugly within the arch, with minimal vertical gap, signal readiness. It’s the opposite of suspension float. In industrial design, I learned, it’s called surface-to-boundary fit. It’s similar to what makes a tight seam on a phone feel premium.

3. Why the Defender, 5 Series, and Lexus ES Fall Flat

These are well-engineered vehicles. But visually, I don’t like them (not anymore).

Tall rooflines & narrow tapers

The Defender looks iconic. I fell in love with it years ago when they launched in India. But it’s also tall and boxy, with a flat roof and vertical side surfaces. Its cabin volume sits above the visual centreline, and there’s little taper or slope. I don’t see motion in the car but just utility. It’s a brilliant design for off-roading, but it lacks the “plantedness” that makes a Macan look athletic.

Flat tails and long overhangs

The BMW 5 Series and Lexus ES have elongated rear overhangs and mostly upright boot profiles. The rear feels stretched, not crouched. Instead of tucking in like a runner, they stretch backward like executive lounges. 

I also only visualise the ugly mouth of Yautjas from the movie Predator looking at the Lexus grills.

Unfilled arches and thin tyres

Visual stance collapses when wheels feel sunken or small in relation to the body. This is common in midsize sedans with narrow rubber or excess wheel arch gap. In design terms, it’s poor proportion management between support surfaces (wheels) and load volume (body).

4. The tapered cabin effect (aka the hourglass)

Want to know a trick nearly all performance-looking cars share? They pinch the cabin inward as it moves up.

This inward taper mimics the shape of an hourglass. Both in plan view (top-down) and elevation (side view). It’s a simple but powerful illusion: it shifts mass downward, suggesting both speed and stability.

Volvo’s S90 does this brilliantly. So do Range Rover’s Velar and Evoque. The cabin hugs the body, the surfaces tighten, and nothing flares awkwardly. Everything converges.

5. Maruti Fronx surprise

Design talent doesn’t live in budget brackets.

The Maruti Fronx, despite being a sub-₹15L crossover, has nailed stance better than many ₹80L+ sedans. Why?

• It’s wide and squat.

• It tapers at the right places.

• It keeps rear overhangs minimal.

• The rear doesn’t droop like a hatchback.

• The black cladding and wheel arch volume add muscularity.

Only if Maruti had fixed their interiors!

Why this matters to me

I’m not a spec-sheet motor head. I read them but eventually I go by feel. 

A car with a planted stance calms me in the same way a well-weighted pen or a chamfered laptop edge does. There’s an unspoken clarity to it. It communicates performance, poise, and balance. 

That’s why the best designs don’t just look sleek. They settle into their context like they were always meant to be there. (Shameless plug: that’s also the spirit behind the name Native.) A bad stance in a car is a visual representation of dissatisfaction. Once you notice it, you can’t unsee it. 

And the next time you’re buying or building something, ask yourself: does it look like it’s waiting to pounce? Because that’s what your eyes truly crave.