Have estates lost their appeal again?
Discussion
The Jag XF estate thread got me thinking. Back in the seventies, estates were all the rage. Then over the past decade or so there seemed to be a huge revival with a wide range of estates being available.
However, anecdotal evidence would suggest there's a shift away from estates again. Does the collective agree or am I just looking in the wrong direction?
Just meandering thoughts while I lay here on a Saturday morning.
However, anecdotal evidence would suggest there's a shift away from estates again. Does the collective agree or am I just looking in the wrong direction?
Just meandering thoughts while I lay here on a Saturday morning.
Love mine (rs4) - Just not a fan of saloons, never have been......
However as said above the mini SUV, crossover, the sports backs etc all seen as alternatives to the trusty estate.
20 years ago ...Volvo didn't have the X90/60, Audi the Q5/7, BMW the X3/5 and Mercedes the ML range......
In those days if you wanted Posh and big it was the E class, or a BMW tourer, if you wanted something a bit different then an Avant and if you wanted front wheel drive and moved furniture the V70
However as said above the mini SUV, crossover, the sports backs etc all seen as alternatives to the trusty estate.
20 years ago ...Volvo didn't have the X90/60, Audi the Q5/7, BMW the X3/5 and Mercedes the ML range......
In those days if you wanted Posh and big it was the E class, or a BMW tourer, if you wanted something a bit different then an Avant and if you wanted front wheel drive and moved furniture the V70
Pints said:
The Jag XF estate thread got me thinking. Back in the seventies, estates were all the rage. Then over the past decade or so there seemed to be a huge revival with a wide range of estates being available.
However, anecdotal evidence would suggest there's a shift away from estates again. Does the collective agree or am I just looking in the wrong direction?
Just meandering thoughts while I lay here on a Saturday morning.
I think you're looking in the wrong direction. I drive for a living and see no shortage of estates about on the roads. In fact I'd say there's more on the roads now than there's ever been. I've just recently added to the numbers too by buying a newish Focus ST estate which is replacing my Astravan.However, anecdotal evidence would suggest there's a shift away from estates again. Does the collective agree or am I just looking in the wrong direction?
Just meandering thoughts while I lay here on a Saturday morning.
I think the OP is partly right - where once (in the 80s and 90s) folks would've bought an estate, they now by a soft-roader or crossover.
Still plenty of estates out there of course, but the mumsy practical types are all sitting high in their Quashqais and Discoveries now instead of a Focus or BMW estate.
Still plenty of estates out there of course, but the mumsy practical types are all sitting high in their Quashqais and Discoveries now instead of a Focus or BMW estate.
The fact that they're now called "wagons" will tell you they're not as cool, or at the very least the hotter estates are considered superior to everyday estates. But then I've never heard anyone call a Volvo T5 estate a "wagon"?
Yes. I'm aware some brands are "wagons" but now anything with a slightly tuned engine or dedicated fanboy website is branded "wagon". "It's not an estate, it's a wagon. So therefore coo!"
As an ex trucker wagons were tractor units on artics.
Yes. I'm aware some brands are "wagons" but now anything with a slightly tuned engine or dedicated fanboy website is branded "wagon". "It's not an estate, it's a wagon. So therefore coo!"
As an ex trucker wagons were tractor units on artics.
Volvo now sells more XC60s than V70s, in the UK at least. (Neither had enough room for us, so we bought an E220 instead; now that's a proper estate car!)
There's another factor at work here. In the 70s my parents were unusual in having two cars, only one of which was an estate. Now, the two- (or more) car household is the norm, all those second cars have a greater dilution effect on the estates people do buy.
There's another factor at work here. In the 70s my parents were unusual in having two cars, only one of which was an estate. Now, the two- (or more) car household is the norm, all those second cars have a greater dilution effect on the estates people do buy.
As already said, the estate was the lower seller versus the saloon anyway so was a tougher economic call to build in the first place. Now that so much demand has been taken by the total dominance of the SUV most manufacturers just would attract enough sales to make tooling up viable.
As a family there were always estate cars knocking about as dogs body cars but by the end of the 80s they had been replaced by range rovers which by that time had the same comfort and practicality of an estate plus some added advantages.
And of course, while SUVs grew and took volume away at one end so the modern hatchback appeared at the same time and cars like the Golf took a lot of sales at the other end.
At the end of the day, no one really needs an estate car. If none existed it wouldn't leave anyone without an option.
As a family there were always estate cars knocking about as dogs body cars but by the end of the 80s they had been replaced by range rovers which by that time had the same comfort and practicality of an estate plus some added advantages.
And of course, while SUVs grew and took volume away at one end so the modern hatchback appeared at the same time and cars like the Golf took a lot of sales at the other end.
At the end of the day, no one really needs an estate car. If none existed it wouldn't leave anyone without an option.
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