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Audi to VW Model Overview
New station wagon selection competes with SUV
November 14, 2023, 6:18 am
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SVU has been extremely popular for some time now and is selling well. But some manufacturers are embracing the station wagon and bringing new models to the market in the coming months. And loadmasters have some advantages. Some interesting models at a glance.
Large tailgate and long cargo space: what a station wagon can’t swallow often only fits in a van. But the once-popular body shape faced competition from the SUV. Some people today consider this to be the most innovative vehicle format: passengers sit higher, have a better sense of space and a better panoramic view. As a result of the SUV trend, several manufacturers have canceled their estate variants in recent years.
From 1928, Ford sold the wooden-bodied Model A as the Station Wagon. The station wagon, as a combination of sedan and cargo, has become functional, economical and flexible. The body shape found many imitators and quickly became popular – in the USA until the mid-1980s. Then came minivans.
In Europe, the station wagon was long considered an artisanal car and a small but spartan commercial vehicle. From the end of the 1970s, the design became an alternative to the classic notchback sedan with the Mercedes-Benz T model (W 123 series). Instead of a commercial vehicle, the station wagon has become a practical and comfortable leisure and lifestyle model. And then came SUVs.
“The station wagon has lost its importance worldwide with the SUVization of vehicles. But there is still demand for van bodies in Europe”, says Professor Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center for Automotive Management (CAM) in Bergisch Gladbach. With their large rear door, flexibility and high payload, SUVs can also be seen as lifted vans.
But Jens Dralle sees station wagons as primarily having efficiency advantages over SUVs due to their design with a smaller frontal area and lower weight. They also offer high utility value and often better load capacity thanks to the flat load area. And: “Thanks to the low center of gravity and low weight, station wagons are generally more comfortable than SUVs,” says the head of testing and technology at “Auto, Motor und Sport”.
The range of station wagons is still large
In the lower middle class, the range is still large and is increasing with new models such as the Peugeot e-308 SW or the Opel Astra Sports Tourer. In the medium segment, VW will soon offer the new Passat Variant, which shares the same platform as the new Skoda Superb and is also manufactured in the same factory.
Mercedes-Benz will sell the new generation ET-Class model and the higher-spec off-road model at the end of 2023, but only as a combustion engine and plug-in hybrid. BMW, on the other hand, will offer an electric i5 Touring variant for the first time on the platform of the new 5 Series Touring, in addition to combustion engine variants from 2024.
By the way, experts are not afraid that the station wagon will disappear completely. As the SUV is considered offensive by some social groups, station wagons, vans and vans are accepted. “The image is an important point when buying a car”, says Professor Bratzel. Perhaps the practical body shape will experience a second car spring and will again be in demand – as a sensible response to the SUV.
Summary of exciting models:
Audi A6 Avant e-tron
Audi approaching: a station wagon version (right) of the purely electric A6 e-tron is also planned.
(Photo: Audi AG/dpa-tmn)
Still under study, sales are expected to begin in 2024. Then, with 800 volt technology, a 100 kWh battery, a range of 700 kilometers and charging capacity of up to 270 kW. Audi shares the technical platform with the Porsche Taycan.
- Drive: up to two electric motors
- Power: up to 350 kW/476 HP
- Length: 4.96 meters
- Loading volume: k. A
- Price: k. A
BMW M3 Touring
A facelift is planned for 2024: the current BMW M3 Touring rolled off the production line as a station wagon for the first time in 2022 (pictured).
(Photo: Enes Kucevic/BMW AG/dpa-tmn)
With the redesign of the M3 for 2024, the station wagon known as Touring will also have a fresher look with modified bumpers and headlights. It is not yet known whether the in-line six-cylinder biturbo will continue producing 510 hp or even up to 550 hp.
- Drive: six-cylinder in-line twin-turbo gasoline engine
- Power: around 375 kW/510 HP
- Length: approximately 4.80 meters
- Loading volume: k. A
- Price: at least 101,000 euros
BMW Series 5/i5
Bavarian Refueling: BMW’s 5 Series Touring wants to combine multiple driving options with greater space.
(Photo: BMW AG/dpa-tmn)
The BMW 5 Series Touring will be available for purchase from 2024, as a combustion engine and in the electric BMW i5 Touring version. There is no visual distinction between the types of traction – the combustion engine exhausts are hidden behind the bumper. The development of an M5 Touring has also been confirmed.
- Drive: Otto, diesel and electric
- Performance: Sedan-like (153 kW/208 HP to 442 kW/601 HP)
- Length: about 5 meters
- Loading volume: k. A
- Price: k. A
Mercedes-Benz ET-Class model
New generation: Mercedes also has a station wagon ready from its successful E-Class – also as a slightly more rustic off-road vehicle.
(Photo: Mercedes-Benz AG/dpa-tmn)
Mercedes is designing its luxury station wagon in its seventh generation. The rear axle is pneumatic, the cockpit is optionally digital across the entire width and the key is on your smartphone or Apple Watch. If desired, the E-Class can park and unpark automatically. Four-cylinder combustion engines power the station wagon. There is also the option of a plug-in hybrid with an electric range of around 100 kilometers.
- Drive: Otto, diesel and plug-in hybrid
- Power: 162 kW/220 HP to 245 kW/333 HP
- Length: about 4.95 meters
- Load volume: up to 1830 liters
- Price: from 64,498 euros
Nio ET5 Touring
Still relatively new: the electric brand Nio has models such as the ET5 Touring in its range.
(Photo: Nio/dpa-tmn)
With the ET5 Touring, Nio already offers a midsize electric station wagon. The ET5 Touring is 4.79 meters long and has a capacity of 1,247 liters. As in the sedan, it is powered by two engines with a system power of 360 kW; battery size varies between 75 and 100 kWh of storage capacity.
- Drive: electric
- Power: 360 kW/490 HP
- Length: 4.79 meters
- Loading volume: up to approx. 1300 liters
- Price: from 59,500 euros
Opel Astra Sports Tourer
Opel offers the compact Astra Sports Tourer with several engines – now also in a fully electric version.
(Photo: Opel Automobile GmbH/dpa-tmn)
With the Opel Astra Sports Tourer, customers can now choose between petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and electric. The purely electric version hit the market in September and has a power of 115 kW/156 hp.
- Drive: Otto, diesel, plug-in hybrid and electric
- Power: between 81 kW/110 HP and 133 kW/180 HP
- Length: 4.62 meters
- Load volume: up to 1634 liters
- Price: from 28,610 euros
Peugeot e-308 SW
The Peugeot e-308 SW should theoretically travel more than 400 kilometers on a single charge.
(Photo: Peugeot/dpa-tmn)
Peugeot charges an additional 1,000 euros for the station wagon version of the e-308. There is a loading volume of up to 1,533 liters and a 115 kW/156 hp electric motor and a 54 kWh battery for a range of up to 408 kilometers.
- Drive: electric motor
- Power: between 81 kW/110 HP and 115 kW/165 HP
- Length: 4.63 meters
- Load volume: up to 1533 liters
- Price: from 45,765 euros
Skoda Superb Combi
Traditionally large space from the Czech Republic: the Skoda Superb as a sedan and station wagon (from left).
(Photo: Skoda/dpa-tmn)
The fourth generation of the Skoda Superb Combi will be available from 2024 in petrol, diesel and hybrid versions, this one with 150 kW/204 hp.
- Drive: Otto, diesel, hybrid version
- Power: between 110 kW/150 HP and 195 kW/265 HP
- Length: approximately 4.90 meters
- Loading volume: 690 to 1920 liters
- Price: k. A
VW Passat variant
Classic of the Wolfsburg line: the VW Passat Variant.
(Photo: Volkswagen AG/dpa-tmn)
The ninth generation of the VW Passat Variant, which will hit the market in 2024, will be around 4.90 meters long and have a capacity of 1,920 liters. Otto, diesel and hybrid engines serve as propellants.
- Drive: Otto, diesel, hybrid
- Power: 110 kW/150 HP up to 200 kW/272 HP
- Length: 4.92 meters
- Loading volume: up to 1920 liters
- Price: from around 40,000 euros
VW ID.7 Tourer
Is everything so colorful here? This could also apply to the production version of the ID.7 Tourer – but this photo shows the VW still in camouflage.
(Photo: Volkswagen AG/dpa-tmn)
As a counterpart to the ID.7 electric sedan, VW will introduce the 4.94 meter long ID.7 Tourer station wagon variant from 2024. The van produces 210 kW/286 hp and stores its energy in a 77 or 86 kWh. A range of up to 700 kilometers should be possible.
- Drive: electric
- Power: up to 210 kW/286 HP
- Length: n/a
- Load volume: 545 to 1714 liters
- Price: from around 60,000 euros
