Out back ruckus

TIRED OF THE SEA OF AMORPHOUS SUVS? THIS TRIO OF SVELTE WAGONS TURN UP THE STYLE AND PRACTICALITY, BUT WHICH IS THE PICK?

- ALEX INWOOD

THE GERMANS understand it. Cast an eye over the new-car sales figures of our Bavarian counterparts and you’ll notice a strange anomaly: wagons account for 17 percent of their total sales. Dig a little deeper and the stats get even more interesting. Single out the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, for example, and you’ll discover that two out of every three cars sold is the ‘estate variant’.

That’s a phenomenal stat but also one that’s easy to fathom. Want a car that can seat five, is a tidier handler than most SUVs and has room for dogs, bags and ski gear? Buy a wagon. Aussies used to get it, too – who else grew up with a station wagon in the driveway? – but then the SUV arrived and wagon sales didn’t so much drop. They nosedived.

But, and I barely want to whisper it in case it somehow jinxes things, is the humble station wagon making a comeback in 2022? Not on the sales charts, obviously – the ‘long roof’ is still very much a niche player Down Under – but there seems to be more wagons on sale now than we’ve had in years. Subaru has revived the WRX wagon. BMW is about to reveal a new M3 Touring. A fresh Golf R wagon has just launched locally, there’s the excellent Passat wagon and Skoda has the Superb and Octavia. And if you really want to terrify your Labrador with a practical car infused with supercar performance, you can buy an Audi RS6, Porsche Panamera Cross Turismo or Alpina B5 Touring.