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Archive for the ‘station wagon’ Category

Estates have always been looked upon as family and luggage haulers. They were never meant to be attractive, fast, or adventurous. These vehicles were boring, but very practical. But with time, estates, aka wagons, started getting glamorous and confident, and lately, even luxurious. One classic example of the same is the Audi A4 Allroad. Other than the slight body roll and the long tail, it is a perfect blend of a sedan’s ride and handling and an SUVs practicality and off-roading capabilities.

Mercedes will inject some practicality into its all-new second-gen CLA with the load-lugging CLA shooting brake model. It’s not difficult to see that, with its tapered, swooping shape, it won’t be the most cavernous wagon on the market, but it will certainly offer more space inside than the sedan. It may also appeal to wagon and SUV fans that would otherwise have completely ignored the model.

However, this is not merely a rehash of the initial CLA estate’s formula, since this new one has quite a different shape to it. The front it inherited from the new CLA sedan, but the rear end looks quite different compared to that of the previous CLA wagon – it’s even sleeker and has a more steeply raked fastback-like rear screen.

Realistically few will buy the CLA wagon for its practicality, and most will just want one because it’s a cool, stylish wagon that drives well. Plus it carries the ultra-desirable Mercedes badge. It’s a head-turner too, as with any CLA (even the older one), it draws quite a lot of looks since it’s quite an unusual shape and quite nice to look at too.

Mercedes-Benz is already parading camouflaged prototypes of its upcoming CLA wagon, the second generation of the load-lugging four-door coupe that is based on the A-Class. This time the model is all the more unique since there is no bigger CLS shooting brake anymore, so buyers looking for this type of sporty looking wagon within the Mercedes range will have to settle for the new CLA.

Ford has unveiled the refreshed Mondeo at the 2019 Brussels Motor Show in Belgium. The Mondeo was looking stale for quite some time now and needed a refresh desperately. However, it did not come alone. It brought along the company’s first-ever hybrid wagon and, from our initial impressions, we would call this hybrid-wagon a masterstroke!

Sedans are driving towards extinction and SUVs are the supposed heirs to the throne; but, what about wagons? These long, not-so-pretty vehicles actually make for a perfect family car and are quite practical as a daily commuter as well. In Europe, wagons sell in huge numbers, but that’s not the case here in the U.S. Even though all sizes of SUVs are dominating the market and killing competition, wagons are in a league of their own and seem to be on a come up.

Automakers are gearing up for the Tokyo Auto Show, and it’s already proving to be a show of conceptual goodness. Outside of Mitsubishi’s interesting concepts Subaru will be in attendance with two pretty awesome concepts – the Forester STI e-Boxer and the Impreza STI. Both come wearing a beautiful helping of STI design to go with, most likely, limited performance. Here’s what we know about them so far.

Unveiled in late 2017, the cool Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake is starting to make appearances on public roads. Aton Martin Lagonda Group SEO and President Andy Palmer spotted one during a factory walk, and it’s more outlandish that the car we’ve seen on auto show floors – simply because it’s painted bright pink!

Unveiled in late 2017, the cool Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake is starting to make appearances on public roads. Aton Martin Lagonda Group SEO and President Andy Palmer spotted one during a factory walk, and it’s more outlandish that the car we’ve seen on auto show floors – simply because it’s painted bright pink!

The market has been moving towards big SUVs and all kinds of crossovers in the past few years, but there are still people who favor a good old station wagon like this guy who decided a snowmobile will fit in the back of his BMW 3 Series Wagon and, incredibly, it did. Sort of…

Just when we all thought that sedans and station wagons were on the chopping block…. Thanks to an ever decreasing interest in cars and the momentum gained by trucks and all kinds of crossovers in the past few years, we come across videos like this that show just how much stuff you can haul in the back of an ordinary station wagon.

Audi’s current sedan lineup consists of the A8, the A7, and the A6, followed by the A4 taking up the smallest slot of them all. Among these four-door nameplates, Audi also offers a variety of wagon iterations for added practicality, and now it’s looking like the compact A4 Avant is close to an extensive refresh, as revealed in a series of spy shots that capture a new prototype out and about for some cold-weather testing in Sweden. Updates are likely to include fresh exterior styling, a sleeker interior layout, and the very latest technology for convenience, entertainment, and safety.

We really have to come out and say it straight off the bat: the Peugeot 508 SW is one of the best looking estate- or wagon-style vehicles on the market right now at any price. It builds on the striking but stylish look of the 508 sedan but adds extra coolness and practicality courtesy of the wagon shape.

It debuted a few months after the three-box hatch (which looks like a sedan, but it really isn’t) was unveiled at the 2018 Geneva motor show, where people flocked around the Peugeot stand to get a better look at it – I’ve literally never seen a motor show stand more crowded, and as I was approaching it, I thought Peugeot had unveiled a surprise concept. In the end, it was actually the production-spec 508.

The 508 SW I think looks even better than the already pretty hatchback, especially since it’s not really a boxy, traditional wagon, but more of a fastback/shooting brake type of vehicle. Unusually for a load lugger of its type, it ticks the “looks like it’s moving while standing still” cliché box.

I’ve wondered for long – what the heck is a sleeper? Can any of the modern performance-laden cars be sleepers? I think it’s possible, but only if you inject it with a proper amount of power. This time I am referring to a rather unusual entry in the world of modified cars – the Carbonfiber Dynamics BMW M5 Estate – an Estate with a power greater than that of a Porsche 918
Spyder. Yup, this BMW M5 Estate has an engine under its bonnet with 900 horsepower.

The Germans! What can I say!?

Someone rightly said – When one door closes, another one opens; and behind this door is a BMW M3 Touring. Don’t build your hopes yet, but if reports are to be believed, we might be blessed with the wagon variant of the Bavarian’s smallest sport sedan. It could be sold side-by-side with the 3 Series Touring, codenamed the G21.

The Honda Pilot Rebelle Rally is a mid-size SUV that doubles as an off-road adventure marauder. Created to compete in the 2018 Rebelle Rally, the modified Pilot competed in the Crossover Class, finishing fifth overall behind the driving and guidance of the “Desert Dreamers” team that’s made up of Honda product planner, Ariel Jen, and senior fabricator, Melanie Morimoto. The Pilot Rebelle Rally is headed to the 2018 SEMA Auto Show where Honda plans to showcase the aftermarket possibilities that can happen with its mid-size SUV.

The Audi S4 B5 is old, but gold. Not only does it cost a small fortune if it’s in good condition, but some owners do tend to tune it to insanity regardless of its status.

How insane is this one here?

Bugatti Chiron-rivaling insane. I’m not freaking joking as just the other day an old Audi S4 B5 was filmed in Germany rushing to hit the half-mile mark. Clawing its way with all four tires that barely keep it on the ground and the straight line, this particular Audi S4 B5 has a masterfully tuned engine that delivers an insane 1,442 horsepower. Or apparently, 1,442 horsepower, because my reason does not allow me to believe everything I hear on the Internet.

Nevertheless, the half-mile run during which this wagon achieved 190 mph suggests that 1,442 horsepower may just be right.

Porsche is officially going to have several versions of its Taycan all-electric model, one of which will be an estate or wagon model that will most likely be called Sport Turismo. The Taycan Sport Turismo is exactly the same as the sedan model, but with a bigger trunk and more practicality.

It’s actually going to be the first mass-market, purpose-designed, all-electric wagon ever, and no, the handful of coach-built Tesla Model S wagons don’t count.

The rest of the package remains unchanged, so it’s only going to be sold with an all-electric powertrain (don’t be fooled by the fake exhausts on the back of the camouflaged prototype in these photos provided by our spies) which will provide great performance, as well as a large lithium-ion battery pack for decent range.

Design-wise, expect a slightly more toned down version of the Mission-E Sport Turismo concept that debuted at the Geneva motor show this March. Porsche is apparently also going to make a higher-riding crossover-style version of this wagon, but it will be the sedan and wagon that will be the two main models.

But even if Tesla doesn’t make a production wagon variant of its Model S, that model is going to be the Taycan and Taycan estate’s main rival because it is already quite well established in its segment.

Update 02/20/2019: The Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo has been caught testing in the wild again, and this time it sports even less camo that the last time we saw it. This time we actually get to see the roofline and the rear end. Check out the spy shots section below to learn all about it.

Mercedes was caught testing restyled E-Class prototypes that look like they’re hiding new front and rear fascias. It also appears that most of the work will be done on the front end, which is covered by the heaviest camouflage, although there are other details hidden as well.

The current E-Class, the fifth generation of the nameplate, was launched in 2016 and it is due for a refresh next year. Most changes will be done to the styling, to better reflect Mercedes’ new design language that was originally showcased on the new A-Class and CLS. The updated E-Class is expected to experience an extra infusion of tech as well.

No changes will likely be made to the engine range since the Mercedes started selling the E-Class with its new generation of four-cylinder and straight-six diesel engines, both of which make up the bulk of sales in major markets such as Europe.

Skoda has unveiled the rugged-looking Fabia Combi Scoutline. It comes with all the features that the new Fabia hatchback has but, even though the car seems loaded, it does not come with what a rugged car is supposed to have – an all-terrain drive system and a strong engine.

Just as the hype was dying down after the 2019 BMW 3 Series’ launch at the Paris Motor Show, BMW has reignited interest in its latest new model. As per a report from L’Automobile Magazine, the German automaker will be unveiling 3 Series Touring at the Geneva Motor Show in March of next year. Actually, it’s not that much of a surprise because the touring has been sold for almost as long as the sedan.

BMW has only just taken the wraps off its all-new G30 3-Series sedan at the Paris Motor Show, but what I want to know is what the estate or wagon version of it is going to look like. So in order to not have to wait until next year when BMW will probably reveal the 3 load lugger, I’ve made my own digital version of it.