What Is a "Wagon"? A (Sort Of, Kind Of) Clear-Headed Classification Rule in an Increasingly Murky Marketplace

JEFF SABATINI
Updated

From the October 2017 issue

If you are old enough to have a teenager living under your roof, you would recognize the Western Electric 500-series telephone in an instant. And yet, you’d also need to explain what it is to said teenager, notwithstanding the phone obsession of the current crop of adolescents. As wagons become subsumed and superseded by crossovers—SUVs built on carlike unibodies instead of on separate body and frame structures—we imagine soon running into similar problems with Ford Country Squires and Oldsmobile Vista Cruisers.

Indeed, it is growing harder to differentiate between wagons and crossovers. And then there is the slippery slope that is the butch wagon. The popularity of the original, the Subaru Outback, has led Volkswagen Group to follow suit with the clad-and-lifted Audi A4 Allroad and Volkswagen Golf Alltrack. Volvo’s Cross Country wagons are veterans of the segment, with the company currently offering quasi-ruggedized versions of the V60 and V90. And now even Buick, that mid-century purveyor of half-timbered charabancs such as the 1947 Roadmaster Estate, puts a foot on the gravel with the upcoming Regal TourX. Should any of these vehicles be considered station wagons? Is that computer in your pocket really a phone?

001. LENGTH VS. HEIGHT: Wagons are longer relative to their height than crossovers. This is the foundation of their sleek proportions.

002. WIDTH VS. GROUND CLEARANCE: Wagons are also narrower and ride lower to the pavement. Ground clearance is for crossovers.

003. CENTER OF GRAVITY: Their dimensions give wagons much lower centers of gravity than crossovers, improving handling and ride quality.

004. CARGO AREA: Measured floor to roof, wagons may have less overall cargo volume, but they generally stow more luggage and gear without obstructing the rear view, due to the orientation of their cargo holds.

Automotive nomenclature being what it is—as murky as the mud puddles those AllCrosses and BackTraXes and CroSSports are designed to ford—there’s no definitive definition for the wagon. Try to write one yourself and you’ll see the trouble. Is a wagon simply a four-door, two-box design with an enclosed cargo space? Well, many automakers have offered two-door wagons in the past, cars such as the Chevrolet Nomad, Ford Pinto, and Volkswagen Fox. A wagon surely has to be car-based, though, right? Not necessarily. The original Chevrolet Suburban was called a wagon for decades. And let’s not forget the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, which has wagon right there in its name. Even the first Chrysler minivan was called the “magic wagon”; its trick was that it made conventional station wagons all but disappear.

If we wanted to be perverse, we could say all crossovers are wagons. In our spec panels, we refer to almost every two-box design as a hatchback. But for our purposes here, that won’t do.

Instead, let’s work backward to try to define what it is that makes a wagon not a crossover and a crossover not a wagon. Start with the current production wagons that are indisputable: the BMW 3-series Sports Wagon, the Mercedes-Benz E-class wagon, and the Volvo V90. To our eyes, each one is a stunner, its good looks borne of the right stance—low and long. These proportions are what make a wagon look more like a car than a truck, and in these cars, they are similar: a length about 2.6 times the width, and a width about 1.3 times the height. Recently departed wagons such as the Dodge Magnum and the E61 BMW 5-series had the same ratios. This is our modern-wagon golden mean.

But what’s truly interesting is that when you look at the crossovers being sold by BMW, Mercedes, and Volvo, you find another set of consistent proportions. The X3, GLE, and XC90 all have lengths about 2.5 times their widths, and widths about 1.1 times their heights. And running the numbers on other wagonoidal ­vehicles produces predictable results. Butch wagons tend to have the higher length-to-width ratio of true wagons but the lower width-to-height ratio of crossovers due to their increased ride heights. More conventional hatchbacks are the opposite, since they’re shorter and lack the wagon’s cargo space.

Now, does this mean that the Volkswagen Golf SportWagen isn’t a wagon? Its length-to-width ratio comes up a little short, according to our definition. But surely the Golf is a wagon and so is the Subaru Outback, which by virtue of its prodigious ground clearance doesn’t quite stack up, either. Yet, they both look the part, and each has a long lineage as a wagon. Math be damned then—the elephant test is good enough for us. When it comes to wagons, we know one when we see it.

Wagon Specs, A–V

The days when every sedan formed the basis for coupe, convertible, and wagon body styles are long gone. But with carmakers continually looking for new niches, don’t be surprised if the number of wagon models grows from the 10 available in 2018. We highlight eight here. See here for the Mercedes-Benz E400 and here for the new Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo.

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2018 Audi A4 Allroad

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$45,475ENGINE:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 252 hp, 273 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:7-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 110.9 inLength: 187.0 inWidth: 72.5 in Height: 58.8 inPassenger volume: 94 cu ftCargo volume: 24 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 25/22/30 mpgOnce the purveyor of “Avants” in many sizes, Audi now offers a U.S. wagon lineup of one: this high-riding A4. (The company does sell a plug-in-hybrid A3 hatch.)

2018 BMW 3-series Sports Wagon

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$45,445–$46,945ENGINES:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter diesel inline-4, 180 hp, 280 lb-ft; turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 248 hp, 258 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:8-speed automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 110.6 inLength: 182.8 inWidth: 71.3 in Height: 56.5 inPassenger volume: 97 cu ftCargo volume: 28 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 26–34/23–30/33–40 mpgWith the X1 and X3 obsoleting the station wagon for most, BMW has simplified its 3-series wagon offerings, doing away with manual transmissions and six-cylinders but keeping a diesel.

2018 Buick Regal TourX

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$29,995ENGINE:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 250 hp, 295-lb-ftTRANSMISSION:8-speed automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 111.4 inLength: 196.3 inWidth: 73.3 in Height: 58.4 inPassenger volume: 101 cu ftCargo volume: 33 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 21/18/26 mpg (C/D est)Too bad it’s the wrong Opel. The TourX is a handsome wagon, but you should see the Opel Insignia equivalent without the silly black plastic knee socks.

2018 Jaguar XF S Sportbrake

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$71,445ENGINE:supercharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve 3.0-liter V-6, 380 hp, 332 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:8-speed automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 116.5 inLength: 195.1 inWidth: 74.0 in Height: 58.9 inPassenger volume: 99 cu ftCargo volume: 32 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 21/18/26 mpg (C/D est)This winter, Jaguar brings a proper wagon back to the U.S. market for the first time since the unicorn X-type Sportwagon—only 1602 were sold—departed in 2008.

2018 Subaru Outback

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$26,810–$36,310ENGINES:DOHC 16-valve 2.5-liter flat-4, 175 hp, 174 lb-ft; DOHC 24-valve 3.6-liter flat-6, 256 hp, 247 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:continuously variable automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 108.1 inLength: 189.6 inWidth: 72.4 in Height: 66.1 inPassenger volume: 108 cu ftCargo volume: 36 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 22–28/20–25/27–32 mpgThe best-selling wagon in the U.S., period. As noted, Subaru sells more wagons than all the rest of the manufacturers combined.

2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack / SportWagen

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE: $22,400–$26,670ENGINE:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 1.8-liter inline-4, 170 hp, 184 or 199 lb-ftTRANSMISSIONS:5-speed manual, 6-speed manual, 6-speed automatic with manual shifting mode, 6-speed dual-clutch automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 103.5–103.7 inLength: 179.6–180.2 inWidth: 70.8 in Height: 58.3–59.5 inPassenger volume: 94 cu ftCargo volume: 30 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 25–29/22–25/30–35 mpgYou can’t get a diesel VW wagon anymore, but now you can have your Golf wagon with all-wheel drive. Or opt for the fancier Alltrack, with cladding and the littlest of lifts.

2018 Volvo V60 / Cross Country

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$39,245–$42,845ENGINES:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 240 hp, 258 lb-ft; turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 302 hp, 295 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:8-speed automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 109.2–109.3 inLength: 182.5–182.6 inWidth: 71.9 in Height: 58.4–60.8 inPassenger volume: 94 cu ftCargo volume: 21 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 22–29/20–25/27–36 mpgThe stubby V60 is almost more of an oversized hatchback than a wagon, unless, of course, you are looking at it through glasses tinted by Volvo’s wagon heritage.

2018 Volvo V90 / Cross Country

VEHICLE TYPE:front-engine, front- or all-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door hatchbackBASE PRICE:$50,945–$57,095ENGINES:turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 250 hp, 258 lb-ft; turbocharged, supercharged, and intercooled DOHC 16-valve 2.0-liter inline-4, 316 hp, 295 lb-ftTRANSMISSION:8-speed automatic with manual shifting modeDIMENSIONS:Wheelbase: 115.8 inLength: 194.3–194.4 inWidth: 74.0 in Height: 58.1–60.7 inPassenger volume: 98 cu ftCargo volume: 34 cu ftFUEL ECONOMY:EPA combined/city/hwy: 25–27/22–24/29–34 mpgVolvo offers wagons in both plain and butch, although the unfestooned special-order-only V90 will be as rare as a pink Polestar. The V90 is built in Sweden alongside its sister ute, the XC90.