what's the best 'modern' wagon

as i was thinking about what to do ith my falcon wagon(if and when) it came to me that many of things i wanted were 'modern'. Now there certainly is the attraction of essentiially building my own wagon I was wondering what were the best 'modern' wagons out there? in the various sizes like compact, mid size, behemoth ?

i've seen a few of the legacy wagons and thought they were pretty neat. the blue wagon that appears in rotation in this forum's header is also pretty cool(what is it btw?)

 

The blue wagon in the header is a Mazda6 - a very good wagon. One of our new members has one........

 

I don't know much about "modern" wagons, assuming that modern refers to late-model cars...I really haven't been interested in anything since the departure of the GM B-body wagons (Caprice and Roadmaster Estate) in 1996. I would consider those to be modern, in that they have many of the features that most cars today have (ABS, Airbags, PW, PDL, etc). I like the Roadmaster Estate for it's available options (automatic climate control, auto-dim mirror, auto-leveling rear suspension, Twilight Sentinel, etc). That would make it a luxury wagon in my book.

Regarding mid-size, I've always been a fan of the GM A-body wagons (Oldsmobile Cutlass (Ciera) Cruiser and Buick Century), as well as the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable wagons. Some of these can been very nicely equipped.

The only small wagon that I have seemed to like is the Ford Focus. We rented one when our van was having body work done. It was kinda fun to zip around in, but I would probably never get one because I'm scared of little cars...I've been in 2 major car accidents and prefer to have a lot of car between me and the other car in an accident.

 

I'm with you Topher. Size matters.

 

To answer the question, none of the European or Japanese wagons we get here. I used to drive a 3.0 litre Subaru Legacy wagon, but the new one is so unspeakably ugly, I'd give it a miss without hesitation.
The best new wagon is probably the Australian Holden Commodore Sportwagon, available with a 3.0 or 3.6 litre V6, or a 6.2 litre (Corvette) V8.
I'd go for the V8, with a six-speed manual gearbox.

 

And ODB2. And they got the LT1 engine sorted out.
Odd (and somewhat frustrating) that in '96 that was IMHO the year they really got the B-body right, as in a fully modern state of the art vehicle, and immediately axed it.

 

An NTSB study done in the late 80's came to the conclusion that the smaller the car,the worse it is to be in when in a collision.Even when little cars hit little cars,the results are not good.The recent re-do of that study,that brought us all those videos of little cars failing crash tests miserably,did nothing to disprove that finding.If anything,little cars have gotten worse to be in.And,in opposition to the fragility of 50's and 60's big cars,which had a tendency to crumple like empty beer cans,big cars of the 80's and 90's come with more rigid structure and are among the safest to be in,when in a collision...Todays crushzones are meant to make your car crush like an empty beer can.It's the rollcages tha automakers are messing up on.And it's not just Detroit's Big Three that falling short.Even Toyota and MBZ had sub-par vehicles,in the recent tests...

 

Up here, when the Auto bailout kept the media looking for flicks on the assembly line, they had closeups of the cars' superstructures (above the window line). Plastic injected molded frames! Seems they need to get longer jaws on those "Jaws Of Life" tools.

 

The trend,started overseas,is to infuse the steel the cars are made of ,with plastic.Some car critics are even touting the strength and stability of this new generation of plastics,and are suggesting that we stop using steel for body panels,alltogether...Like those East German cars(did they ever make wagons?)only better somehow...

 

Sounds like a backhanded way for the Population Control fans. What do you do with unrecyclable plastic? At least you can melt and reuse steel.

I'll concede that a 1923 Model T truck had a wooden cab, but it never went over 22 MPH, either.

 

I am prejudiced because I researched extensively before I bought one about 5-6 years ago, but to me the Focus wagon was the best.

It was the best combination of quality (very good for a Ford), price (beats all others on price points), and usable space (absolutely cavernous inside, you don't have to put down the seats to make a wagon, and with the seats down I fit 33 gal compressors [in the box], a 48 inch vanity, a vanity top, and tons of other materials).

And of course what does Ford do? Ends production in Michigan, eliminating the wagon. Bastards.

 

In the last few years Archer, the words 'Station Wagon' have been like a curse as far as the domestic manufacturers go. Ever since the sport ute craze, and lately the 'crossover' sport ute, nobody's been anxious to actually call a wagon a 'wagon.

We're all hoping that the climate will change. Cadillac is coming out with a CTS Sportwagon - should be in your dealer showrooms in a few months. Other than that, no U.S. car maker has come out with a new 'wagon' in years.

There are 'wagons' out there, they just don't call them that. They've put them on unibody platforms and jacked up the suspensions to quasi-SUV height

Ford Flex - a wagon (a tall one, at that)
Chevy Traverse, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia - all tall wagons
Dodge Journey - a tall wagon (although this one is not all THAT tall...)
--- There are lots more of these kind of vehicles out there. Just visit any dealership. The imports have them too.

Actual WAGONS? Not too many....
- Audi has A4 and A6 wagons, as well as 'soft-roader' versions...
- Cadillac - The CTS Sporwagon coming out soon
- Chevrolet - Some call the HHR a small wagon (based on a Cobalt platform), but with the retro looks, I dunno......
- Chrysler has the PT Cruiser. I guess you can use this like a wagon. It is versitle (had one myself)
- Ford has a number of vehicles that can be used like a wagon - they just don't call any of them a wagon. The Edge and Flex; the Escape; the Explorer, etc.......Up until recently, they were also building the Taurus X - looked like a wagon to me.......They killed it becasue it's on the same platform as the Flex.
- No actual wagons for Honda, but the Fit kinda looks like a tiny wagon, and has real flexible cargo / seating options.
- Hyundai has the new Elantra Touring model - a station wagon / hatchback combo.
- Kia has the new little Soul, but it's size makes it more a 5-door hatch rather than a wagon. They also have the Spectra5, which to me also looks more like a 5-door hatch. What they DO have it the Rondo. This IS a small station wagon, available with a 4 or a 6. It's just got a bit of a tall roofline......
- Mazda's Mazda6 was a great mid-sized wagon. Unfortunately, they are no longer importing it. The new Mazda6 is not being built in a wagon body style. They do sell the Mazda5 - a good sporty vehicle, but it's really a small mini-van.
- Mercedes continues to sell wagons - in the small C-class and medium E-class sizes. Expensive, of course.
- Mini - Is the Clubman a wagon?.....I say yes, although the lack of true rear doors makes it questionable.
- Zip for Mitsubishi
- I call Zip for Nissan too, but they also have some soft-roaders that might qualify for some.
- Saab has the 9-3 Sportcombi - a wagon for sure. They also have the old 9-5 wagon, but gets yours in a hurry if you want one. It's about to be killed, and the replacement for it won't be out for a year or so......
- Saturn used to do quite well with their wagon sales, but they seem to have abandoned the market. Only soft-utes and minivans now.
- Subaru also used to do quite well. Unfortunately, they also are leaving us straight wagon lovers high and dry. The Impreza / WRX is no longer available in a true wagon version, substituting a 5 door hatch instead. They Legacy wagon that you used to buy is no longer available here. You have to buy the 'Outback' to get the wagon body now.
- Suzuki has the Forenza wagon (I think they still offer it - not positive). It's almost like a Ford Focus wagon clone.
- Volkswagen has wagon versions of the Jetta and Passat. You can even get the Jetta with a turbo-diesel in some areas. The Passat has a terrific 3.6 liter V-6 available.
- Volvo's got a couple: V50 and V70. Pricey, though

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Right now, very little interests me in the new wagon market. I'd be more inclined to put my money into a well-preserved GM b-body from '94-'96 (Can you say Roadmaster Estate?) I'd also consider a Subaru Legacy GT wagon from '05 - '07.

 

i dont know which is, but i know wich isint! the 2006-present 7 seater jeep commander! but i would like to have a jaguar wagon if they make one or that cadillizac wagon!

 

Don't get too excited. A Jaguar wagon has been available here in the UK for about five years: the X-Type Estate.
Well-regarded it isn't. The X-Type is a rehashed previous-generation Ford Mondeo.
I forgot to mention the Mercedes E-Class Estate in my previous post. The new-generation one looks good. In line with European practice, I'd have an E320 CDI (90% of Mercedes E and S-Class cars in Europe are diesels). There is a new E500 V8 petrol, but with the 3.0 litre diesel able to do an easy 155 mph, I'd struggle to see the point.

 

I've seen a few of the Jaguar wagons in Hollywood,so they ARE here in The States...Checked out a Flex recently.Not too bad really.What it lacks in width,it makes up for in heighth.They only get 17 and 24 mpg's though,and my 24 year old Colony Park gets 17 and 23...