RE: Estate Of Play: Fast Wagons

RE: Estate Of Play: Fast Wagons

Thursday 19th May 2011

Estate Of Play: Fast Wagons

We love our C63 AMG estate, so we gathered together a gaggle of fast estates to find out if other rapid load luggers are as much of a hoot




No matter how much we like rapid cars, most car enthusiasts will go through a practicality crisis at some point in their lives. Many of us will get genuinely sensible and throw in the performance towel in favour of something that's more white good than motor car, although you may be able to keep something more appealing tucked up in a garage for high days and holidays.


But for those petrolheads who are unwilling to compromise their yearning for pace in the face of their need for space, there is a solution - go and buy a fast estate. It's a combination that's currently winning quite a few friends in the PH office at the moment, and editor Chris-R is particularly fond of the PH Fleet C63 AMG estate's ability to lug copious amounts of kit along at improbably high speeds. Provided you can afford to foot the fuel bills (the C63 is quite capable of descending to MPGs in the low teens) it's an intoxicating combination.

Curiously, though, the idea of providing a vehicle that can haul an entire family's stuff along at a committed and rapid pace is one that mainstream manufacturers took a long time to come around to. Pedants may argue that the performance estate theory was espoused by models such as Reliant Scimitar GTE in the late 60s or the Lancia Beta HPE in the 70s, but it wasn't until the 1990s that car makers were really turned on the performance wagon pound.


You could argue that the Subaru Legacy Turbo wagon kicked off the modern fast estate era in 1991, but the Legacy's (for want of a better word) legacy is really about powering a certain young Scot through the world's rally stages. So we have decided it can't come and play in our informal group test. Likewise, the 1992 E34 BMW M5 Touring was a modern performance estate pioneer, but that was only available in left-hand drive.

More to the point, we're not pretending that the five cars assembled here are a definitive collection of the best or most significant fast estates (although each one is significant and/or brilliant in its own way), but they are indicative of the variety of possibilities, should you decide to point your hard-earned in the direction of a fast estate.


So, alongside the PH Fleet Mercedes C63 AMG on a sunny Surrey lunchtime we gathered, courtesy of some tame (and very kind) PHers, a random(ish) sampling of the rapid wagon genre in the form of an Audi RS4, an Audi RS2, an MG ZT-T V8 and a Volvo 850 R.

It's quite a disparate bunch, really. The cheapest car is worth a little less than £2k, while our Merc (when it was brand-new) tipped just beyond £71.5k with its various options. Meanwhile you can choose between front-, rear- or four-wheel drive, five or eight cylinders, and turbochargers or natural aspiration. The only thing that really connects all the cars (apart from the two Audis; that link is fairly obvious) is a shared goal - to move around large amounts of luggage at equally large speeds...

So what do their owners think of them and, perhaps more importantly, what do they think of everybody else's cars...?


Chris - MG ZT-T 260

"It's an absurd car that should never have been made - but I'm glad they did!" says Chris about his not-so-subtle green and determinedly rear-drive V8 MG

Power: 256bhp
0-60mph: 6.3secs
Top speed: 155mph

Read more about Chris's V8 MG ZT-T

 

 

 


Jeremy - Audi RS2

"The RS2 is still the granddaddy of fast estates - it's a modern icon" says Jeremy of his beloved Audi - and with 315bhp, four-wheel-drive and the magic fairy dust of Porsche sprinkled all over it you'd have to say he's got a point.

Power: 315bhp
0-60mph: 4.8secs
Top speed: 162mph

Read more about Jeremy's Audi RS2

 

 


Gareth - Volvo 850 R

"I reckon it's pretty much the best value performance estate you can buy at the moment" reckons Gareth. "A newer car might be more reliable, but when you're having fun who cares?" Who cares indeed, especially if you're driving around in a car that's the direct spiritual descendant of the one that shook up the BTCC in 1994.

Power: 240bhp (auto) 250bhp (manual)
0-60mph: 7.6secs (auto) 6.7secs (manual)
Top speed: 153mph (auto) 156mph (manual)

Read more about Gareth's 850 R

 

 


Smita - Audi RS4 Avant

"It's just so composed and refined," says Smita, "and I think that even after four years it still feels fresh - to look at and to drive." It certainly doesn't feel outgunned, with 414bhp from its naturally aspirated V8...

Power: 414bhp
0-60mph: 4.5secs
Top speed: 155mph

Read more about Smita's RS4

 

 


Riggers - PH Fleet C63 AMG estate

"The C63 is so fast it almost seems impolite - especially since this one is fitted with the performance Pack" says, er, me. They surely can't be allowed to make engines like this for much longer, so the 6.2-litre V8 in our beloved Merc could well make it one of the last of a dying breed of German muscle car.

Power: 478bhp
0-60mph: 4.5secs
Top speed: 155mph

Read more about the PH Fleet C63 AMG

 

Pics: George Williams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author
Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
someone's gonna to say it, so i may as well be first:

"where's the M5 touring"???? biggrin

ZOLLAR

19,908 posts

172 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Mmm O/T just noticed something...


Harry Hill



Riggers




hehe

Great Pretender

26,140 posts

213 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Max_Torque said:
someone's gonna to say it, so i may as well be first:

"where's the M5 touring"???? biggrin
yes

No fast estate test is complete without one.

Glad to see the 850R make an appearance though; they're laugh out loud fun to drive.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

53 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
ZOLLAR said:
Mmm O/T just noticed something...


Harry Hill



Riggers




hehe
Which is better?? There's only ONE way to find out..... FIGHT !!!!

George H

14,706 posts

163 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
I'll take the RS2 please smile

richinleeds

738 posts

199 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Shame there's nothing Japanese there as i once owned a Legnum VR4, i can say with 260bhp and 4wd with AYC they are fantastic fun, and also great for lugging wardrobes, mattresses from B&Q

crostonian

2,427 posts

171 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
The best Italian estate is also missing, the Alfa 156 GTA Sportwagon, one of the best cars I've ever owned now selling for a third more than I got for mine 2 years ago!

darkyoung1000

2,025 posts

195 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
I'm a big fan of fast estates, I'll take the RS2 out of that lot please, mainly for the looks.

I've always had a soft spot for the Passat G60 Synchro (LHD only) ever since having a passenger ride in black slightly modified one...

Cheers,
Tom

Mars

8,668 posts

213 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Sorry, please explain the reason you missed the Legacy off this again?

JohnGoodridge

529 posts

194 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Max_Torque said:
someone's gonna to say it, so i may as well be first:

"where's the M5 touring"???? biggrin
Was my first thought - Two Audis, a Merc, and no Bimmer? Nice article all the same.

spats

838 posts

154 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Love fast Estates smile

But come on where is the excellent R36 Passat wagon. Just under 300bhp, and 258 or twist can't be sniffed at?

I guess when you think about it theres quite a few mega estates out there. I wouldnt have even thought of the Rover though smile

y2blade

56,029 posts

214 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
nice to see you included the 850R cool

greeneggsnsam

617 posts

155 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all


You've been to Longcross then... I know the owners of that café, and drive past it all the time! Wish I'd seen you all...

EDLT

15,421 posts

205 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Mars said:
Sorry, please explain the reason you missed the Legacy off this again?
Because Colin McRae drove a Legacy Estate into a tree once. Or something.

GFWilliams

4,941 posts

206 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Was a fun day doing this feature thumbup

And there are loads of cars we 'could' have included, but a) there's a certain point where you've got too many to park anyway and b) we had a pretty good mix of cars anyway smile

CO2000

3,177 posts

208 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
EDLT said:
Mars said:
Sorry, please explain the reason you missed the Legacy off this again?
Because Colin McRae drove a Legacy Estate into a tree once. Or something.
It was a Saloon & more than once biggrin

GravelBen

15,654 posts

229 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
EDLT said:
Mars said:
Sorry, please explain the reason you missed the Legacy off this again?
Because Colin McRae drove a Legacy Estate into a tree once. Or something.
hehe

And if we're being pedantic they made them from '89 rather than '91 wink

chevy-stu

5,392 posts

227 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
Legacy/VR4 or Bimmer of some description would have been worthy inclusions.. But someone's gotta choose what's there on the day...

Quick estates are jolly good fun.. !!!

Greg_D

6,542 posts

245 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
E55 amg and RS6! biggest and baddest

mnkiboy

4,409 posts

165 months

Thursday 19th May 2011
quotequote all
I've always liked the Alfa 156 GTA Estate. Not quite in the same league as the C63, but it's a fine looking 250bhp dog carrier.