Starting from its humble beginnings
carrying passengers and their luggage from railroad depots, the “station wagon”
emerged as an incredibly versatile and easy to live with family vehicle. In recent
years its status has diminished with the availability of cheap gas and drivers
who chose to drive tipsy SUVs. Too bad. The station wagon offers much better
fuel economy, is safer, is less costly to maintain and offers more usable
family friendly cargo capacity.
Here is a review of all the station
wagons we have tested and each one was a delight, unlike driving overweight,
gas swilling SUVs that are so unsafe that the industry created a special safety
category to evaluate them called rollover rate.
The definition of what is a station
wagon has been blurred by the introduction of hatch backs, essentially a sedan
with a fifth door instead of a trunk lid, and smaller mini-vans. We have
included all of these under the station wagon heading because they are essentially
oriented for carrying at least four people and a dog in comfort and with decent
fuel mileage.
Best
station wagons for the money:
Dodge Caliber, Kia Ronda, Subaru
Impreza, Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix/ Mazda 5.
One
to wait for: Volkswagen Jetta
Best
Wagon to Carry Infants: Volvo V70, Saab 9-5
Best
Dog Wagon: Kia Rondo, Saab 9-5
Favorites by price range:
$15,000 Scion xB, Suzuki SX4. Under $20,000 Subaru
Impreza, Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix, Kia Rondo, Mazda 5
Under
$30,000 Saab 9-3 Sport Combi
Under
$40,000 Volvo V70, Subaru Outback
Expensive:
Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series
Personal
Favorites
Mom’s favorite: The BMW 5 Series rides
wonderfully and has exceptional brakes. The cargo capacity could be improved,
but you can’t ignore its handling. Second choice would be the Volkswagen
Passat. It looks good, but what it is best at is doing its job without any
troubles. In the past I would have chosen the Volvo V70, but I find the base
model underpowered and the T5 very expensive.
Dad’s favorite: The Kia Rondo is
exceptional. It gets good gas mileage, holds everything, and is priced in the
middle teens. Second choice would be the Pontiac Vibe. It is just big enough
and with its exceptional gas mileage and handling and reworked styling and good
resale, this is a tough wagon to pass up.
Not working female MBA’s view: The
Mercedes wagon is so elegant and so cavernous it is my choice. The performance
is exception and there is room for everything. Second choice would be the Saab
9-3. It gets wonderful fuel mileage and the seats and ride are both firm and
comfortable. Plenty of power and room. Of course, the Audi A4 has the best
interior and ride.
Working My Way Through College male’s
view: The Subaru Legacy is what a station wagon should be. Handy, have good fuel
mileage, and be able to go where the action is whether it is touting a bike,
snow board, surfboard or four good friends. This wagon does it all. Second
favorite, Mazda 3 or 5. Handle great, and need less filling and building open
source computers and servers doesn’t make you rich. http://www.eracks.com/
Best
station wagons for gas mileage (commuting)
Note that some models require premium
fuel. We selected the highest rated model for this section. Usually the four
cylinder powered models get in the mid 20 mpg average in daily driving, the six
cylinder models around 21 mpg in mixed driving and the V8 models about 19 mpg.
For high performance cars subtract between 10 and 30 percent.
Mixed
Driving gas mileage figures
Mini
Cooper 30
Vibe/Matrix
29
Kia
Rio5 29
Scion
xD 29
Chevrolet
Aveo 27
Dodge
Caliber 26
Mazda
3 25
Volkswagen
Passat 24
Volvo
V50 23
Audi
2.0 23
Saab
9-3 23
Suzuki
SX4 23
Kia
Rondo 22
Subaru
Impreza 2.5i 22
Suzuki
Forenza 22
Volvo
V50 T5 22
Audi
A6 22
Jaguar
X-Type 20
BMW
3 Series 20
Volvo
V70 19
Mercedes
E-Class 18
BMW
5 Series 18
