Several decades ago, the station wagon was the default option for a family that needed a large vehicle to carry everyone and their gear. Those wagons were slowly pushed out of that role by the minivan, and then by the SUV. Crossovers and SUVs have seemingly stomped both the wagon and the minivan largely into the pages of history, but there are still some holdouts. But why must they be so expensive?
Today, Thomas wrote about how BMW is selling far more M5 wagons than expected. That’s great! What’s not great is how these things cost around $180,000 and up after taxes. That’s a darn shame! I’m with Nsane In The MembraNe here. Where did all of the affordable sporty wagons go?
Okay but can we get a fun wagon that doesn’t cost six figures? I don’t understand why this segment needs to be reserved for the 1%. I would go buy an M340i or S4 wagon tomorrow if they sold them in the US. And yes, Subie Gang-I know the turbo Outback exists but I don’t want a godforsaken CVT.
Unfortunately, we all know the answer, and it’s that there aren’t enough sport wagon lovers to buy them new. Sorry for making you sad.
In today’s TMD, Matt noted how Chevy Brightdrop vans are piling up as buyers appear to be going to something like the Ford E-Transit. But hold on a moment, Maymar says:
The Brightdrop is a stepvan. It’s priced competitively with stepvans, a product that exists for a reason. GM might’ve just been a little optimistic that Amazon DSPs would appreciate the better tool for the job when they could just use cheaper Transits and expect the drivers to deal with the downsides.
Username Loading…. chimes in:
I never knew my real van.
Today, Matt also wrote about how the days of terrible EV infrastructure taught him to slow down and enjoy small town America. Great lesson, Matt. Oil Leaks Means There’s Still Oil adds:
Great read, I love seeing people expand how they feel about cars into positive ways it can affect our outlooks on life. I’m glad EVs gave you an opportunity to learn to take the time to enjoy the journey, but regardless of vehicle range, we could all stand to plan to stop at small communities on our trips.
I travel the American Pacific Northwest for work by van, and I have learned I need to book my days less tight. I try to make time, even just 15 minutes a few times a day, to pull off the interstate at a viewpoint or place of interest. I always get a good picture I can show my kids, and sometimes learn something I can share with them about the location. If you have the option to stretch out road trips a bit, I highly recommend it.
If I had a way to bring license plates with me to Baltimore, I’d totally drive my Honda Life home this summer. Either way, I plan on taking a leisurely drive home. Have a great evening, everyone!
Just come to a country with real freedom to choose automobiles
Think Australia.
Subaru Wrx sports wagon
Skoda octavia rs
Skoda superb 206
Genesis g70
Plus an assortment of Audi’s and BMW’s
Even an alpina.
Sure, but where’s the fun and what’s the point of having a shooting brake where you’re not allowed to shoot anybody? Wet
blankettourniquet time, if you ask me.Well not maybe any body. But guns are not that hard to own legally in au. Hell i have a couple.
Simple safety course proof you have a suitible containter to keep out of reach of kids and a check you have no criminal convictions and you are on your way.
It exists. It’s the V60 Polestar.
And before you say “that’s not affordable,” it costs about the same as an M340 or an S4, which were the benchmarks in the comment.
Given that they’re all tens of thousands of dollars more expensive than what’s already an inflated average new car transaction price, even the V60 Polestar – hell, even the V60 Cross Country – isn’t affordable relative to most of the new car market, let alone in absolute terms. How about a revived Acura TSX wagon instead?
I almost bought the v60 last year. I found one(hard enough to do). And was hemming and hawing on the price vs the rest of Volvo’s lineup. A 10 grand premium for the Polstarr engineers was not something I ended up willing to pay. Not when the powertrain is the same, the suspension upgrade requires manual adjustments, and most of what made it “engineered” was some bodying stiffening that I didn’t feel the base platform needed unless truly tracking on a regular basis. If Tracking, I don’t want or need hundreds of lbs of luxury… To say nothing of the fact that I have been to only two track days in my lif, but have enjoyed driving an engaging vehicle hundreds of times in my life.
Put simply, Volvo of America screwed up the business proposition with the V60 only being sold as a Polestar Engineered. We did what 99% of Americans buyers have done, which is compared the $72k v60 PE to the $62k xc60 Ultra and asked why we would spend an extra $10k for basically no discernible difference day to day?
If they would have sold normal v60 with the same T8 455hp drivetrain they sell in EVERY OTHER VOLVO then I would have very happy driven a V60 home that day! This isn’t some packaging problem, Volvo Europe sells v60s with the t6 and t8 phev powertrains. They are normal cars over here and prices about €2k below the equivalent xc60. Super popular! Because you can cross shop it with the crossover and make a use case for either the wagon or crossover depending on your needs.
Instead, we bought my wife an XC60, which is a fine Crossover. But every time I drive it I wish Volvo would have sold me the car I wanted instead of trying to sell me the car they wanted to sell.
My first brand-new car was a 2002 Mazda Protege5. They were buzzbombs and not fast, but good cars and at the time I felt like I got a lot for my money. I was young(ish) and single but didn’t really think that I was driving a wagon.
I had a 2003 back in the day as well. Definitely anything but fast but those little cars could handle a corner pretty competently. I would consider it more of a hatchback versus a wagon but it was a little bit of a grey area I suppose.
As much as I would like to agree, what manufacturers need to do is reverse course on car-based crossovers and go back to gen-1 sized versions.
What needs to happen is: The True car-based “cute-utes” as they were called back when introduced, need to come back and, with that, sporty versions. Yes Trucks and SUVs are everywhere. But I don’t think I ever heard complaints when the First Gen Forester, The CRV, the RAV4, Sportster were coming into the market. We LOVED it when Subaru made the STI. Heck We love a good CRV with a K-swap now.
I grew up with a father who was a huge wagon fan. When I was just a kid it was an AMC Rebel (red with no woodgrain!). But more important to my dad was three pedals (AMC notwithstanding). So during the fuel crunch, he bought a 240D instead of a 300TD wagon. He got a bit of a unicorn with the Audi 5000 Turbo Quattro Wagon, but then in the mid-90s he wanted a 5 Series wagon, but they all came with automatics. He bought the sedan instead. I guess you could say he didn’t want to buy a wagon, but in reality, it was how the vehicle was packaged.
I remain a huge wagon fan. I bought an Accord once (in a nod to my father because of the 6 speed), but after trying to cram a large cooler and later a large dog crate in the back, I said never again. I’ll hang onto my Jetta Wagon as long as can
Amen! Love my 2015 Sportwagen TDI.
With the volumes wagons would sell at, they probably need to be 6-figures to make a profit. There also aren’t as many sedans to base them on at the low end because even those don’t sell like they used to and wagons died due to low volumes before they did. Even hatches are dying off. Eunuchmobiles have eaten just about every other segment and the last hope of EVs built on skateboards allowing an expansion of segments hasn’t worked out. This is the future, an inexorable march to a miserable hell.
When I went to buy a new Golf Sportwagen in 2019, there were no incentives or lease specials or anything like that on them. The payment was going to be $600 a month and they really wanted me to buy Tiguan or Jetta. I walked next door to Subaru dealership and got an Impreza hatchback for $199/month.
VW, Volvo and all of the other euro brands shot their own wagon foot. Why was a new S60 T8 $50k but a V60 T8 is $70k+?
Give me a cheap wagon!
I’m pretty sure my brother got a 4-motion Sportwagen 6-speed for about $24,000 around that time. They were offering really good deals until they were no longer being sold here at which point the gouging really started. Unfortunately (for me), these things have held their value incredibly well.
I’ve pointed this out repeatedly that of course the V60 didn’t sell well when it was a $20k premium for no powertrain improvements.
With the success of the M5 Touring I have the barest hope for an i5 Touring. I would buy that in any guise but preferably an M60.
Unfortunately, we all know the answer, and it’s that there aren’t enough sport wagon lovers to buy them new.
Not any that have nearly $200k to drop on a car anyway. Pretty sure more would come out the woodwork at $30k though.
Does the Chevy Trax count? Chevy can’t make those fast enough
Is that a SPORT wagon though? Or just a wagon?
I want a wagon so bad, but when I can get a used EV6 GT for ~$30k and a 3.1 second 0-60 it just doesn’t make any sense to spend $60k on a used Cross Turismo. Yes the second is appointed much better and has better handling, but it’s very hard to justify and extra $30k unless you have a paid off house and a lot of disposable income.