Your SUV habit is killing off my favourite car – the station wagon

BERLIN – For motoring enthusiasts like me, station wagons are a near-perfect package, combining spaciousness with sleek looks, exciting driving dynamics and decent fuel efficiency.

Unfortunately, my love of no-nonsense wagons – called estates in Britain, Kombis in Germany and “breaks” in France – is no longer widely shared.

A top Mercedes-Benz Group designer bemoaned last week that “nobody is buying them” any more. Although the German automaker still offers several estates, it is hesitant about developing a wagon version of its mainstay electric C-class.

The average consumer has long since voted with his or her wallet: sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers rule the roads today. Yet, I think the proliferation of boring “Chelsea tractors” could rekindle demand for something more unique.

Some people might think us dull, but station-wagon owners are really non-conformists – like other maligned enthusiasts who enjoy vinyl records or craft beer. And with Chinese carmakers starting to embrace the form, driving one does not require scrimping on technology.

I fondly recall being ferried around with my siblings in a three-row Peugeot 505 in the 1980s. While the wagon’s demise is often attributed to people not wanting to drive the same thing as mum and dad, it kept its appeal for me.

Now a parent myself, I have done plenty of kilometres on the Autobahn in practical estates such as the Skoda Octavia and Audi A4.

Lately, the gorgeously sculpted electric Audi A6 Avant e-tron is causing me to rethink my commitment to a two-wheeled commute. I keep spotting it in my Berlin neighbourhood. Its excellent aerodynamics would guarantee plenty of battery range for my summer trips to the lake or Baltic Sea.

I am fortunate to live in a country where families, dog owners and corporate road warriors have not lost their affection for wagons.

Although they have lost a bit of market share in Germany over the past decade, the country remains the biggest market for these vehicles by far. Around 15 per cent of new cars here are estates, according to data by automotive research firm Jato Dynamics.

Outside Europe, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the world’s wagon sales, it is a different story.

In the US, a once-beloved body style has become an endangered species.

The Subaru Outback – for a long time America’s most popular wagon – now looks much more like an SUV.

Volvo Cars, a brand once synonymous with practical wagons, is stopping its offerings of these models in the US because customers there “overwhelmingly prefer SUVs”. Estates accounted for less than 5 per cent of Volvo’s worldwide vehicle sales in 2025.

The writing has been on the wall for a while in the US. The 1970s oil shock triggered a shift away from thirsty wood-panelled cruisers. The rise of minivans then made these cars feel even more old hat.

Their fate was sealed by regulations granting pickup trucks and SUVs leeway to consume more fuel, whereas sedans and wagons were subject to more stringent targets.

As high-riding SUVs took over the roads, their manufacturers made more money while their occupants felt safer, though regrettably nobody consulted pedestrians.

I am sceptical that US President Donald Trump’s gutting of these fuel economy standards will give wagons a second wind, as some in the administration appear to think.

For now, the wagons Americans seem most passionate about are high-performance beasts like the US$125,000 (S$160,000) BMW M5 Touring, a plug-in hybrid with a twin-turbo V8 engine and 717 horsepower.

Following stronger than anticipated demand, BMW is considering adding more of these sorts of vehicle to its US line-up. Yet, the M5’s price tag means cars like this will remain a niche proposition, however thrilling.

Given the popularity of SUVs, one might have expected China’s automakers to skip wagons as they look to grab market share in Europe. I’m happy to see they have not.

Earlier in April, BYD’s premium brand Denza unveiled the €115,000 (S$171,700) electric Z9GT “shooting brake” at a glitzy event in Paris. There is also a slightly cheaper plug-in hybrid version.

The Z9GT can slide sideways into tight parking spaces, which is handy for a vehicle that is 5.2m long. Using one of BYD’s flash chargers, the battery can recover from 10 per cent power to 70 per cent in five minutes.

Denza has recruited English actor Daniel Craig to woo customers who might otherwise fancy a €103,500 Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo – you can see the former 007 behind the wheel here. But I am sceptical whether an unfamiliar Chinese brand can succeed with such nosebleed prices.

Happily, China’s wagon offerings are not just targeted at the very wealthy. Zeekr’s sleek 7GT electric wagon starts at a more reasonable €48,000, while BYD’s “super hybrid” Seal 6 DM-i Touring can be yours for €27,000 in Germany.

The price includes government purchase incentives and BYD’s discounts. Unlike EVs, Chinese hybrids have not been slapped with additional tariffs by Brussels.

This BYD wagon promises a combined petrol and battery range of about 1,350km – appealing from a fuel-bill perspective. Electrified wagons – whether EV or plug-in hybrid – have lower frontal areas that can provide superior aerodynamics than SUVs.

After a slow start, European and other Asian automakers have launched their own electric estates, such as the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer and BMW i5 Touring.

To win over consumers who might otherwise pick a crossover, manufacturers might want to consider adapting wagon branding or designs. Kia calls its €30,000 K4 petrol estate a “Sportswagon”, which sounds a whole lot more fun.

The Dacia Striker, the latest offering from Renault’s budget brand, offers a bit more ground clearance than a typical wagon and costs less than €25,000. Unfortunately, it would not be available in the US where the average new vehicle now costs more than US$49,000.

With so few wagons to choose from, reversing their decline looks close to impossible in America, though I hope BMW and others try.

In Europe, I am more confident that the shift to electric and Chinese ingenuity will help preserve this do-it-all champion of motoring. Resistance to SUV hegemony will, though, need wagon fans like me to make a commitment. It is time I test-drove that Audi.