What makes a station wagon

Here at Car and Driver , the station wagon holds a special place in our hearts. Its longroof body style combines the best attributes from traditional family sedans and increasingly popular crossovers and SUVs. Regardless of skill set, we think these are the best station wagons you can buy today, offering the best combination of all-weather capability, driving responses, cargo capacity, passenger space, and styling.

Those who are interested in the best station wagons from can refer to last year's list. Subaru's successful formula with the Outback station wagon has been imitated by several of its rivals, but none of those copycats has managed to get as much traction. The slightly lifted suspension and ruggedized plastic lower body panels have both been found on other wagons, such as the now-discontinued Buick Regal TourX , and we expect Ford to try it soon on an upcoming Fusion Active.

The Outback's appeal lies in its adventure-ready appearance, standard all-wheel drive, and cargo-friendly cabin. Two four-cylinder engines are offered—a nonturbo 2.

While the Outback's handling won't thrill a driving enthusiast, its ride is smooth and quiet, and it's interior is roomy—a combination that should satisfy families and adventure seekers traveling to their next challenge.

Review, Pricing, and Specs. The Mercedes-Benz E-class station wagon's key attributes are there for all to see: it's practical, great-looking, luxurious, and rare. That's enough to make this lovely long-roof model a Car and Driver favorite.

This year, the E-class wagon is updated with a new, more masculine look by borrowing styling elements from the Mercedes SUV lineup and wearing an adjustable air suspension to improve off-road capability.

There's still plenty of luxury to be found inside, though, and the E-class's richly dressed cabin, robust features list, and numerous driver-assistance systems make it one of the better-equipped luxury station wagons available.

Looking for something with a more on-road attitude? It's much easier to list what the Mercedes-AMG E63 S wagon can't do than what it can, which is why this machine is so special. The cans make for a very impressive list. Although it's based on the regular Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon , the AMG version is modified to maniacal levels of performance. The most notable upgrade is its hp twin-turbo V-8, which sounds like it runs on pure testosterone and hurls the E63 forward like one of Zeus's lightning bolts.

It's also much more than a drag-race king; it has racetrack-ready hardware that gives it unnatural agility and surprising driver satisfaction. The fact that this long roof model can haul a whole family and their luggage in a positively palatial cabin is further evidence that the E63 S wagon would be our ideal everyday vehicle if only its price tag didn't contain six figures.

Practicality and luxury go hand-in-hand in the Volvo V60 station wagon , which is based on the Swedish automaker's S60 sedan. Offered both in regular and lifted Cross Country guise, the V60 is powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine and can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive. A high-performance plug-in hybrid variant is also offered and brings big thrills to this grocery-getter— along with up to 22 miles of electric-only driving.

Looking for something to break out of the cookie-cutter SUV mold but still need space for family and cargo? We suggest the Volvo V90 : It's beautiful, practical, fuel efficient, and luxurious—it really is the whole package. Buyers can choose either a hp turbocharged four-cylinder with front-wheel drive or a hp turbo- and supercharged four-cylinder with all-wheel drive. Are driver-assistance features interesting to you?

The V90 has them all, and what's more, they're standard across the lineup. If the idea of bailing on an SUV is still too much, consider the lifted and ruggedized V90 Cross Country reviewed separately. On the other hand, a hatchback typically has one or two rows instead.

With the rear suspension, a wagon utilizes rear suspension to handle the load. They also have a top-hinged liftgate or two-part tailgate. Hatchbacks on the other hands use a lift back design where the opening is sloped and the door lifts up.

Automakers often have multiple configurations to the same model. A great example of this was with the Focus that had a sedan, wagon, plus the three and five-door hatchbacks. The early station wagons were part of train travel.

Other names included the suburban and carryall. Before the s, automakers assembled their passenger compartments with hardwood. Then, they framed it in steel and coated it with some colored lacquer for extra protection. The first wagons came from trucks which is why they were looked at as a commercial vehicle. Instead, they had curtains of unrolled canvas. Custom body builders were in charge of designing all the passenger compartments because creating all-wooden bodies was time-consuming.

Ten years later, Ford was the biggest name in station wagons. By the s, these wooden station wagons signified prestige in the community.

Wooded station wagons were more expensive than regular automobiles at the time. The downside to the wooden wagons was they required constant attention. The varnished bodies needed recoating plus the screws and bolts needed to be tightened regularly. GM released an eight-passenger Chevy Suburban in that had an all-steel wagon body on top of the commercial truck chassis. Then, after the war, there were new advances made in production so the all-steel bodies became more practical.

This eliminated the noise, maintenance, and cost that came with the wood body. In , the Willys Station Wagon became the first all-steel, factory-built wagon from North America.

It has a trim that reminded consumers of the wood bodywork. Then, in , the Plymouth Suburban was released. This all-steel design was constructed on an automobile chassis instead. By , they discontinued their Woodie wagon and converted that design to all-steel as well. In the mids, automakers used wood accents, but these eventually got replaced by vinyl graphics instead. By , the only two companies with a Woodie model was Mercury and Ford. The Jeep Grand Wagoneer is most recognized for their wood-grained design.

The s through the s were the best years for sales of wagons in the U. There were multiple styles for consumers to choose from including two and four-door versions. Most of them at the time had room for six to nine passengers. The first model to put a rear-facing seat in the back was a Chrysler. Many other automakers followed suit and placed their rear seat backward as well. Then, in , Mercury and Ford placed two seats in the trunk that faced each other.

Each of these held two people, so that changed the capacity to ten people. This rule is the big one, really. This rule is why something like the four-door Saab , a very usable hatchback , is not a true wagon.

Same goes for that Hyundai Elantra someone posted in the comments. Not wagons; they just don't have enough roof over the cargo area. Now, the Audi A3 posted in the comments? So is the Nissan Pulsar Sportback also seen in the comments. Originally, I had a 3rd rule about the ratio of the length of the roof to the angle or the rear of the car be it door or hatch , but I've since simplified the rules down to two.

I know there are folks who feel a wagon needs a rear that's closer to vertical, but I feel a wagon can have a steeply raked rear as long as there is enough roofline to satisfy rule 2. This one is unusual because it just satisfies rule 2, but not rule 1. That roof breaks into the slope of the rear end at just about halfway down the admittedly meager cargo floor, but, as there is no side window coverage for the cargo area, we have no wagon.

Just a hatchback. Many 3rd generation and up VW Golfs, with their thick C pillars and near-vertical rears, fall into this category as well. In the case of the Gremlin, I bet an hour with a cutting torch, some plexiglass and epoxy could punch your W-card, though. It's a wagon.