And there are also some wagons that will laugh off any suv. Remember that wagons are based on sedan platforms, and do not preform much differently than their sedan counterparts, but have more utility than sedans. Most wagons I have seen actually have more cargo space inside than most suv's, as suv's tend to have shorter wheelbases, and therefore less length to put stuff. Some examples Mercedes C63 AMG wagon , Holden HSV clubsport wagon BMW M5 touring , Porsche panamera (although more fastback in nature)
You have clearly never driven a car. Station Wagons are basically exactly the same in every aspect as their Sedan counterparts, apart from the added storage space and room. Most SUV's weigh in excess of 4500-7000 pounds depending on the SUV, where as most sedan based vehicles (including station wagons) weight somewhere between 3000-5000 pounds depending on the vehicle. The extra weight means that this little thing called "physics" takes place. 4500 pounds is a lot of mass to move around, causing unpredictable and even dangerous behavior when pushed to the limits. This behavior can range from simple understeer, to slightly less manageable oversteer, to even rolling the vehicle if the weight is transferred fast enough. Most sedan based vehicles don't have this problem, as their center of mass is much lower to the ground. Also, in every case, suspension setup has a big impact on handling as well. Most SUV's have high, soft suspension built for off-road trails. Sedans have suspension built purely for road use, and thus can much better deal with the demands of high-speed cornering. TL;DR: Station Wagons are Sedans with more room so you can take your dog on vacation with you. Please do some research before making yourself look like a massive idiot.
I like wagons as much as the next guy, but you have to notice something, when was the last time you saw a wagon less than 20 years old on the road? People just don't buy them anymore, now the people that would have bought wagons are now buying those "Crossover" abominations. That will never be put in 4wd, (assuming they have 4wd) and have the cargo room for exactly two blocks of cheese. And, if you were asked to draw what you pictured a fart as, you'd end up drawing a crossover. A few years ago my Sister bought an 04 2wd Tahoe, coming from a Ford Explorer, she loved that Tahoe, It was big enough for things, you could put more than 2 people in it without them complaining. And, it had enough power to merge with traffic without being terrified. I would have that if anything, 2wd, Proper SUV's would take over where wagons left off, but no, have a Crossover. I dont want a crossover. Actually, I'll continue, I see nothing wrong with actual truck based SUV's, (Tahoes, Suburbans, Expeditions, Excursions, and to some extent, Durangos) Since they Can actually do stuff that involves people, AND things I think that if you had to have one vehicle for the rest of your life, I'd say a 4wd Suburban would be a pretty solid choice, Since I think the Suburban might be the best all around vehicle I can think of, Its comfy, has a 350, 4wd, you can sleep in it, you can bring 9 or your closest friends, and a boat, you can procreate in it without worrying about putting out a window, you can do 70 on the interstate without worrying about being run over, or worrying about the fact that your doing 70 on the interstate. And you have to agree, a big black 4wd Suburban is a damn impressive looking thing.
Lots of wagons over here in the EU, tonnes of them. More popular than crossovers. Alot of crossovers do have awd. None of them have manual selection though, they're either plain fulltime awd, torque vectoring centre units or most commonly, 1 fulltime drive axle and either an electronically operated or viscously coupled clutch to allow engaging of the other axle, in the electronic case it will automatically be engaged (some of these vehicles do have a "centre lock" button, but otherwise they are part time awd automatically kicking into awd as needed)
Yup, different places different tastes. North America seems to have a fascination for large vehicles that are high up, whereas Europe seems to prefer smaller sporty vehicles. General thing I seem to notice between the places is that for every truck, suv or crossover you see in America, in Europe that would be a hatchback or wagon. Not to say you don't see suv's here and there, however trucks are practically non existent, which makes some sense as many of the behemoths nowadays probably wouldn't fit well in small European towns. Most utility vehicles in Europe are often vans, where in America its all pickup trucks. You have a good point, sadly wagons have fallen out of favor of the public, much in the same way minivans have. It boggles my mind why crossovers, and suv's to an extent have even become popular since they are closer to minivans than wagons, and handle poorer. My only theory is that A) people like to be high up and B) people (often those in big cities) think that if they ever need to go "offroad" a car based crossover will save them; its partly to some extent about the image of being outdoorsy and being able to handle any road conditions. Ironically Whenever I drive on the highway after a snowstorm all the vehicles in the ditch are crossovers and suv's, or raised trucks.
Mum had a Toyota Rav 4. 2010. Very much a crossover. Larger in most dimensions than my year 2000 Ford Focus Wagon. My wagon had more boot space, more front passenger leg room, more rear passenger leg room and matched it for fuel economy with an older 152000 mile petrol engine versus a modern diesel. Only things the rav did the focus didnt: part time all wheel drive aircon actually worked a 6th gear (both cars were manual)
I don't understand why they killed it since it was their "halo" car and helped define the brand just like the Impreza did for Subaru. I still think Mitsubishi offers some cool no-frills cars like the Outlander and ASX but they really shoudln't have killed the Evo.
I love a good wagon. I beat my friend in a drag race In my mother's Volvo station wagon. He was in an ls2 trailblazer. Sorry buddy, it wasn't enough for the Swedish heat.
Have you seen that ford bronco on the mods? That thing isn't done yet!? Anyways... Anybody making mods?? --- Post updated --- --- Post updated ---
Haha yeah courtesy car. Commodore is getting a fresh coat of paint. (Separate post) Europeans on this sight hate the height of the Holden utes roof, I found this old 2005 concept of the VE ute & it may appeal.
Ford Focus are really cheap. Found a couple of good deals. All manuals. 2004 RSX Type-S 76k, $9995 2010 Focus SES 79k, $8995 2007 Focus ST 55k, $6750 Dat RSX is BEAUTIFUL but so much money for a 12 year old car...
You know the Australian government are douchebags when they drop the Holden Caprice & use a BMW as the PM's car.
It looks like a squashed model S/X. Cabin too large, nose too small. In general it looks okay though Today we test drove the Ford Focus RS and the Mustang GT 5.0. My god, those have brutal power. Focus was vibrant blue with black rims and had a manual transmission, Mustang was black and had an automatic transmission. We didn't even dare to switch the anti skid control (weird translation) off in the Mustang.
