So Ben Lowden wanted us to rundown convertibles this week on the basis of wall-to-wall sunshine, and the newfound freedom to go outside and actually enjoy it. But Ben is an optimist and therefore the last person we listen to at PH. We reminded him that British sunshine is as fleeting as the nation's sporting success, and is likely to stick around for about a millisecond after this weekend. Moreover, the next few weeks are going to be all about getting out to see people you haven’t seen in months, which means that whole families ore going to be on the move - and that’s precisely what the estate car was designed to facilitate.
As a distinct breed, the fast estate is positioned atop the standard wagon in the same way that inch-thick icing can be layered onto a trusty currant bun. And because the concept tends by its very nature to combine endless practicality with very loud noises, the niche’s constituents are among our most favourite things ever - a fact very well understood by premium German manufacturers, if less so by Italian or British ones.
Of course these days it’s possible to spend vast sums of money on a fast estate car - one that will likely outpace a nineties supercar. Possibly a noughties one, too. But for the purposes of this SoB, we’ve kept the budget to a modest £20k - mostly because that’s where things get interesting without being prohibitively expensive. Plus it gave Ben enough money to select an Audi, which always makes him very happy…
Truthfully all estate cars are built in the shadow of the E-Class wagon. It is the Henry VIII of the segment: big, imperious and chosen by God to rule. No owner of an E-Class estate has ever concerned himself with the thought that something might not fit in the back of his car. Everything fits: wardrobes, fridge-freezers, park benches, railway engines - they all disappear into a space roughly the same size as a school gymnasium.
Of course you can have your mega-wagon powered by any number of tediously worthy Mercedes-Benz motors. But to do so would be unworthy of the model’s status: much better to twin it with the naturally-aspirated 6.2-litre V8 that AMG poured its heart and soul into back when engines were not just mounting points for turbochargers. Arguably the M156 was a better fit for smaller, sportier faire - although honestly you could mate it to a skip lorry and something compelling would result.
In the W211 it famously delivered less torque than the smaller, supercharged V8 it replaced. But it developed more power, and did it in a savage, take-no-prisoners way that Henry Tudor would’ve heartily approved of. The £20k budget restriction makes high-milers the most likely fodder, but E-Class wagons are workhorses, not show ponies. For less than £15k you get a 2009 example with a full service history and massive kit list. And the warm feeling that comes from knowing you’ve chosen wisely.
NC
After Audi had finished redefining and forever changing the rallying world with the introduction of the all-wheel drive Quattro in the 80s, they set about tackling the fast estate. The result was the RS2 Avant in the early 90s, which arguably, redefined Audi’s brand position as a manufacturer of practical performance cars. Five years later, the RS4 followed and has been with us through four generations. It’s almost as old as Nic.
The Audi RS4 Avant is to the fast estate what Ben & Jerry’s is to ice cream; revolutionary, indulgent and looks as good as it tastes (or drives, in Audi’s case). With my first child on the way, the RS4 is my dream dad car so naturally I was first to shotgun my choice this week. £20K would bag me this stunning B7; notably the last RS4 to feature a manual gearbox if that’s your thing.
Sprint Blue, Recaro bucket seats, touches of carbon-fibre and a 420hp 4.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 to sing all the way home. Plus a fiver left over for a coffee and bag of sweets for the journey, which’ll certainly be longer than necessary. What’s not to love?
BL
PHers have rightfully pointed out that it’s a shame the introduction of G30 M550i to Britain hasn’t included a Touring version or rear-drive option. Things don’t get much cooler than a V8-powered 5 Series with a big boot and right-wheel drive – which is why my pick here, an F11-gen 550i Touring, is a guaranteed winner. With an earlier version of the same twin-turbo 4.4 driving the back axle with 450hp, it’s as alluring as potent Beemers get - and at just seven years old, it’s still brilliantly refined and well equipped.
Mostly though, it’s about that engine. The M550i gets to 62mph in a preposterous time thanks to all-wheel drive (and more power, obviously) but the 4.7 seconds claimed for the Touring is still plenty quick enough in our book. The V8 is also about as butch and characterful as modern BMW motors come in the sub M bracket, and made all the more effective by fitment of adaptive dampers to this particular car. At the touch of a button, expect it to go from supple to sporting - or as sporting as a genuinely large estate car gets.
Fast, broadly talented and practical – and now, of course, an extinct breed, the 550i Touring doesn’t shout about its credentials either. See how smart this one looks. Sold? I know I am…
SS
How many of these did you predict reading the headline? At least half, I’ll wager. RS4, AMG, BMW? Tick, tick, and tick. Yawn, snooze, pass.
Alright, that’s a little harsh - the usual suspects are here because they’re exceptionally adept at what they do, and their manufacturers have long, illustrious histories when it comes to delivering on the brief. The fast 5 Series estate, RS Audi Avant and AMG wagon all have roots stretching back some 25 years.
Know what else was perfected since the early 1990s? The Mitsubishi Evo. And if you can name a vehicle that has, over successive generations and years, delivered such a richly intoxicating blend of performance, practicality and delirious entertainment, I’ll be amazed. For what felt like a lifetime, there just wasn’t a bad Evo - all of them utterly absorbing, both of your mind and all your money.
So an Evo estate just made sense. Or rather, it didn’t make any sense, which is why it’s here; variety being the spice and all that. It’ll use a much fuel as an AMG, need servicing as often as the BMW needs a clean and be turned away from all the fancy haunts the Audi might frequent. But for sheer thrills, for a vehicle’s ability to plaster a perma-grin across your chops, I reckon the Evo will have them - and many other cars - licked. That the family can come along, along with a fair amount of luggage by the look of it, seems merely a bonus. This one is recently imported, rust-free, nearly standard and £3k under budget. Which, right now, would pay for a lot of super unleaded. So, go on, dare to be different this time. No, really - dare you…
MB
Many years ago I had a surreal experience sat next to Gabriele Tarquini in a Transit van as he showed me around a little unknown race track just outside Barcelona. We were there to put the latest WTCC Leon Cupra through its paces to see what a surprise the diesel version was.
A racecar powered by the murky stuff was an interesting experience where you were left bouncing off rev limiters far earlier than expected, and while I never was truly a convert, the chassis on the Leon Cupra did convince me. Good thing it inspires the road cars as per this Cupra Estate.
Very much like a diesel World Touring Car, sticking a Cupra Estate amongst the standard German speed wagons might be a surprise, but don't underestimate this little gem. Go and visit Revo and you could be touching 400hp with the spare cash you have leftover from £20k. The four-wheel drive version of this car is probably the better bet if chucking in a tonne more torque, but the cheapest in the classifieds is £700 over budget... so near 300bhp and front wheel drive will still be a lot of fun and - unlike Nic’s choice - it is not the size, but what you do with it!
PD
Not learning my lesson from last week, I was late to the party once again and after being told that my rather nice low mileage Golf R was too similar to Petes choice, I spent another hour browsing the classifieds in lieu of actual work.
So this is my choice and at way under half the budget, surely a winner in its own right? I've lusted after one ever since reading Dan Trent's fleet updates back in the good old days. Dan's is the facelift and in truth my preference would be for the more subtle black - but I can live with 'Subaru Blue' (perhaps some gold wheel paint applied). This example looks reassuringly standard even retaining the original steering wheel and adding some undersealed - essentially, I would suggest, based on painful personal experience of other Japanese product from the same era.
260hp is plenty enough for the dump runs, the load space will cater for my ridiculously oversized pram plus room for a bit more. I'm not sure how well the cloth interior will hold vs the toddler; based on the state of our current wipe down leather seats I don't hold out much hope.
Although with the £11k leftover that isn’t too much of a concern. In fact, I might as well buy my third choice, wrap it in ESV reflective markings and reenact a few scenes from Police Camera Action. Like I said - the good old days.
SL
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