Estate cars are generally...

[V8mate]

Generalisations all the way - what's your take on estate cars?

[Dracoro]

Often the cooler version of the saloon that it's based on.

A4
A6
5 series
Volvos
Mercs
etc.

The sportier they get, the cooler they are RS6/RS4/M5 touring/AMG estates etc.

[Chris71]

Generally, I'd say they're just a better solution to the usual MPV/4X4 question.

But I like estates because of the minority of rather loonie ones that combine acceptable dynamics, huge peformance and extreme practicality. My pet hate is cars you can't use often, andI think it;s deeply cool that you can happily chug up a snowy alpine pass in an RS6 with skis and snowboards in the back and then chase supercars along the autobahn on the way back. All things to all men. Well, apart from small and chuckable maybe, but as a daily driver...

Funnily enough I was thinking again this morning how I'd like a tweaked 328 Touring with some subtle coilovers and a limited slip diff as a daily counterpart to my planned TVR purchase.

[al1991]

I usually think of estates as providing a slightly rarer, more interesting take on their saloon counterparts.

I'm hugely tempted by Focus estates, for example, simply because there's less of them around.

[Cotty]

Awesome! I love them

[Chris_w666]

They just make more sense most of the time if you are considering a particular model of car why not get the estate version, assuming you weren't looking at the coupe/cabrio models.

Most estates are not much bigger than their saloon/hatch counterparts but are more practical and in some cases better looking.

[mattman]

Cracking - bought a passat saloon last year after forgetting how useless saloons are for so many loads. Fixed now with an e39 estate I one of the 1st jobs was to transport an entire bathroom to the dump!

Much more practical and can be good looking - although probably not quite as good looking as a high end saloon or coupe. Or am I just getting old?

[samuelellis]

I went from a MOndeo hatch ot a MOndeo estate and the estate just feels more grown up so tbh im now sold on estates

[Mr Gearchange]

I love them. Their 'estateness' just gives added Q car appeal - nobody expects to be shown a clean pair of heels by a unassuming family wagon with two kids seats in the back.

[LeoSayer]

Chris_w666 said:

They just make more sense most of the time if you are considering a particular model of car why not get the estate version, assuming you weren't looking at the coupe/cabrio models.

The extra cost and weight are two good reasons, but the extra practicality always overrides that for me.

[T84]

I'm looking at an ST220 and my girlfriend wants me to get the Estate as she reckons it looks better

[BazT]

Very useful, and damn cool! They always seem to look better than the saloon equivalent in most cases too!

[mattman]

Used to have fun driving my old 52 plate v70 around with various dance/rap/rnb blaring out - not the done thing in a volvo!

[angusc43]

My E500 estate is as good at just about everything I throw at it including

- trips to the dump with junk from recent house move (well one trip actually - it all fitted)
- battering the autoroutes to the South of France and back in August fully laden
- taking wife and kids to UK festivals with a heap of camping gear
- taxiing various combinations of seven kids and adults around the place
- picking up antiques for my new propety
- hoovering up b roads (no, really! It's got air suspension)
- blasting out tunes on the HK 7 way sound system
- wafting me to and from the office in central London

And I happen prefer the looks to the saloon. Same for the various S and RS Audis and Bimmer Tourings.

I'm not at all sure what an "SUV" offers over and above one of these.

[mnkiboy]

Next car will be an estate - the new dog doesn't have much space in the back of the Leon. Also they're useful for camping. And they're cool.

I've currently got my eye on the Volvo V50. I don't know what's happened to me. I used to lust after hot hatches, and now all I want is a diesel Volvo estate.

[browno]

I'm a big fan of estates, but am also surprised that there are no mid-size performance estates - I'm thinking that a focus ST/Astra VXR estate would be a pretty good combination of performance with even more usability than the normal hot-hatch...

At the moment I'm finding my Vectra VXR estate a great combination - it's absolutely huge for all the baby stuff, and has plenty of poke (300BHP, 400lbft with a remap), and is unloved thanks to Clarkson (whereas evo gave it 4-stars and really rated their long termer), so is a bargain - ok, the handling isn't in MX5 territory, but it means I can keep the mazda for complementary handling fun! It's also very rare - with less than 150 Vauxhall bagded estates made, so despite looking a bit shouty, can still surprise the unwary!

The one drawback of running a big estate is that you are always the bloke with the useful big car, so are constantly asked to help lug stuff around for all and sundry...

Edited by browno on Tuesday 2nd November 13:28

[y2blade]

I've recently bought a saloon after having estates for years

my next car could well be a V50 D5



I just prefer Estates

[Chris71]

samuelellis said:

I went from a MOndeo hatch ot a MOndeo estate and the estate just feels more grown up so tbh im now sold on estates

Yep. Also helps with questionable image on some sporty saloons. To be honest the big stereo brigade implications wouldn't stop me buying a nice Impreza saloon, but I'd feel a lot happier in a wagon even before I tried to get a load of muddy bikes in the back.

[kambites]

Given how good the aerodynamics of modern estate cars are, I just don't see the point in saloons.

[ukzz4iroc]

y2blade said:

I've recently bought a saloon after having estates for years

my next car could well be a V50 D5



I just prefer Estates

My lease V50 D5 goes back on Friday. Stonking car and I will miss it. Though for the size, the extra height of the rear stowage area isn't that great. I won't get another estate TBH. Prefer saloons.