Fast wagons for winter blues | Six of the Best
The best thing to get through six months of doom and gloom? Fast and four-wheel drive for all the family...
Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 Shooting Brake, 2024, 21k, £43,995
You might think we’d taken leave of our senses, suggesting a 2.0-litre AMG estate as a winter pick. Given the most recent C63 S E Performance was about as popular as a hot dog at a bar mitzvah. But before the engine was sullied by unwanted hybridisation, it was the firecracker underneath the bonnet of the A-Class AMGs, a 200hp-per-litre ripper as worthy of the Affalterbach badge as any V8. From 2019 until very recently it made for a hatch, saloon, small SUV and estate of truly bombastic speed, underpinned by a more engaging chassis than the first round of ‘45 badged AMG nutters. The seldom-seen Shooting Brake was just as feral as the hatch, while introducing more than 500 litres of boot space and a smart new look into the equation. A forgotten fast estate gem, and all the more interesting now with an electric replacement.
Audi RS4 Competition, 2023, 11k, £65,999
Another one that merits more than a cursory inspection. Because while the regular B9 RS4 was as memorable as your last bowl of soup - and, just as crucially, not much more exciting than an S4 - this is no ordinary RS4. It’s a Competition, a very limited run (just 75 cars for Britain) special edition launched in 2022 that finally uncorked the potential that had lingered since 2017. There were coilovers, there were lighter wheels, stickier tyres, tweaks to the Sport Diff, ABS and ESC - Audi even made this RS4 more vocal through taking some sound insulation away to better hear the rowdier exhaust. It was a proper skunkworks special, way more entertaining to drive while giving away nothing to the standard machine as an everyday prospect. Little wonder the recipe was reheated for the 25 Years Edition. This one presents as new after three years of modest use - and is £20k less than the original RRP.
Alpina B3 Touring, 2022, 32k, PH Auctions
No explanation required for this one. It’s an Alpina B3 Touring, a car that for decades offered what BMW wouldn't from the factory: M3-rivalling performance, with an estate body. Cult hero status resulted; an assortment of B3s being better than the equivalent BMW to drive with split-tailgate, pooch-hauling practicality into the bargain. Look at how popular the actual M3 Touring has been for proof of the concept. But with its big grilles, angry demeanour and general M attitude, the M3 was a bit much - there was still a space in the fast BMW Touring realm for an Alpina B3. A little softer, a little tamer yet just as engrossing to drive, the current G21 era - complete with the M3 engine - has been a high point for the B3 breed. This one has been with its seller since new in 2022, and has covered just over 30,000 miles - adding many thousands more will be an unmitigated pleasure.
Volvo V60 T8 Polestar Engineered, 2021, £35k, £31,980
While this is a Volvo V60 with Polestar badges, this is not a Volvo V60 Polestar. That car, often seen in Rebel Blue, was a turbo straight-six (or twin-charged four-cylinder) wagon the likes of which we didn’t think Volvo would make again. And while the subsequent Polestar Engineered V60 wasn’t quite as specialised, there was plenty of expensive hardware thrown in: Akebono brakes, forged wheels, Ohlins dampers and so on. With more than 400hp as well, from a combination of turbo four-pot and electric motor, plus 155mph potential - this coming just before the 112mph limiter on everything. And perhaps most importantly, the V60 boasted the kind of fast estate style that Volvo does better than any other: with the gold accents reserved for the Polestar Engineered, those who know will clock something special. Everyone else will be thinking what a handsome wagon it was that just overtook them…
VW Golf R Mk8, 2023, 23k, £29,995
Seeing a Mk7 Golf R estate is pretty much an everyday occurrence; seeing a Mk8 is much less common. Which is odd, given their similarities and our enduring fondness for a hot wagon. But with lease deals not what they once were and a glut of fast VW SUVs by the time of this car’s arrival, the case for the Mk8 was harder to make. If you had a 310hp Mk7 doing everything required of it, why change it for a 320hp one that cost a lot more? All of which meant that the Golf R estate was taken off sale last year, and finding one for sale is hard - this one is actually a Japanese import. Despite everything said about the Mk8, the long-roofed R was very good, that bit keener to drive than a 7 while still boasting a great big boot. Bet this one is nicer than any UK example, too…
Subaru Levorg GT-S, 2015, 71k, £10,995
But if £30k is a bit much for a four-wheel-drive, white estate from Japan with 300hp or so, try this: a Subaru Levorg GT-S. Another JDM forbidden fruit that surely would have made some sense here (or at least not sold as dismally as the standard Levorg), the GT-S was powered by a FA20 flat-four turbo for 300hp. Lineartronic limited the fun a tad, though there was torque vectoring and Bilstein suspension for a little of the old Subaru magic. Consider it like a modern Impreza wagon - not as commodious as a Legacy, but a little more nimble as a result - and the GT-S makes a lot of sense. This one arrived in the UK this year, boasting plenty of Japanese history, four nearly-new Dunlops and an MOT well into 2027. It’s rare enough to make an Alpina look like a 320d, all while costing just £10k…
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