Some of you might be asking what’s with our infatuation with station wagons. In a world that’s now dominated by crossovers and SUVs, the good ol’ station wagon is a breath of fresh air. Of course, there will those who will say these cars look like hearses, but if you don’t need three rows of seats, it’s hard to beat the practicality of a wagon.
It’s also a bit ironic that the US market in particular deemed wagons uncool at some point. These days, enthusiasts over there are craving for it. As they say, you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. Meanwhile, in Europe, the wagon continues to thrive with most of the wagon sales in the world concentrated in the continent.
Locally, the wagon market isn’t looking too good. Sure, you can blame that on SUVs and pickups. However, bad roads and flooding played a part in the wagon’s unpopularity in the country, but that’s a story for another day. Of course, there’s also seven-seat MPVs which, in this author’s humble opinion, make more sense for those who don’t want, or need, four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
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There are about ten options to choose from in the Philippines today, and five of them belong to one brand (ehem, BMW). Granted, it’s a niche market in the country to begin with, but we reckon a couple more choices would be nice. Here are five (relatively attainable) models that we’d like to see here someday.
1) BYD Seal 06 DM-i Touring
Yes, BYD has a station wagon. In its bid to appeal to a wider European audience, it has released the Seal 06 DM-i. The DM-i bit of its name should tell you that it’s a plug-in hybrid that appears to be all the rage in The Old Continent. With a cargo capacity that goes from 675 liters to 1,535 liters, the luggage space rivals that of compact crossovers.
Also, that 1.5-liter engine combined with a single electric motor gives out 161hp or 215hp if you’re willing to splash out. Oh, and the range-topper with the most powerful configuration retails for about 130,000 yuan or just over a P1,000,000. It’s spacious, efficient, and reasonably priced. What’s not to like?
2) Hyundai i30 Station Wagon
Thanks to its strong presence in Europe, Hyundai has a good reason to sell wagons over there. For that, the South Korean automaker has the i30 Tourer. We’ll admit that it’s a bit of a seasoned model, but it’s based on the brilliant Elantra platform…the previous one, that is. Still, it has a handsome shape that’s home to 602 liters with the rear seats in place, and stretches out to an impressive 1,650 liters.
Sadly, there is no hybrid version of the i30 Tourer, although there are two powertrain options that include a 1.0-liter turbopetrol, and a 1.5-liter mild-hybrid turbopetrol. Shame the diesel has been discontinued, though. As for pricing, it retails for about €24,000 or about P1,600,000.
3) Toyota Corolla Touring HEV
In our visits to Japan, we noticed something rather neat. We saw far more Corolla Tourings than its sedan counterpart. While the hatchback is still the best-selling body style over there, the wagon comes in at a close second. We’ve also seen loads of these in our European travels, so it’s definitely got global appeal.
Cargo space is rated at 581 liters, which is actually more than the RAV4 HEV with 540 liters. If anyone needs more proof that wagons can be more practical than SUVs and crossovers, this is it.
Powering the Corolla Touring HEV is a 1.8-liter Atkinson Cycle engine mated to single electric motor. It’s exactly the same as the Corolla Altis HEV, meaning it has a combined outout of 138hp. That said, there’s also the option for a 2.0-liter hybrid that also powers the Innova Zenix with 177hp. In Japan, prices range from ¥2,359,500 to ¥3,416,600, which is roughly around P910,000 to P1,320,000. Yes, please.
4) Volkswagen Golf Variant
If you want a real slice of Germany, then look no further than the Volkswagen Golf. But for the ultimate piece of Europe, one has to go straight for the Variant. No, it’s not a variant of the Golf, but rather, it’s the name of the Golf station wagon is in its home market. Locally, we had it in the form of the Golf GTS and it was a hit with buyers until Volkswagen Philippines decided to axe it and bring in the Chinese model. Still, for a brief moment, we got a taste of Germany without having to fly out.
Which is all the more reason why it needs to make a Philippine comeback. Cargo space is rated at 611 liters and can expand to 1,642 liters with the seats folded down. There’s also a wide variety of powertrain choices raging from mild-hybrid turbopetrols, plug-in hybrids, and even diesels. And let’s not forget that there’s also a performance version in the form of the Golf R Variant with a 2.0-liter turbo with 328hp.
Because of the variety, its prices are a huge spread, starting at €30,000 (P2-M) for the 1.5 eTSI to a whopping €57,000 (P3.9-M) for the R. Mind you, all variants (pun unintended) are fully loaded, even at the bottom of the range.
5) Volvo V60
Okay, we’re bending the rules a little bit for the Volvo V60. While its price isn’t exactly easily attainable, we just had to include it in the list. The reason? We find it incredibly ironic that Volvo, a company best known for wagons, doesn’t even offer a single one in the country. What gives?
Besides, the BMW 3-Series Touring can’t have the European midsize wagon market all for itself, and we say it needs a bit of healthy competition. There’s 648 liters of space in the back and, with the seats folded down, goes up to 1,431 liters. With all seats up, the V60 is easily the more commodious wagon versus the 3-Series Touring that has a capacity of 500 liters. See? Healthy competition.
There’s no shortage of powertrain options, either. There’s a 2.0-liter mild-hybrid that makes 197hp, but opt for the plug-in hybrid versions and that power is cranked up to high-performance levels. The base plug-in hybrid packs 350hp, but if that’s still not enough, the T8 AWD punches out 455hp that allows it to get to 100kph in just 4.6 seconds. The spirit of the iconic 850R is definitely still around.
The V60 range starts at about €50,000 or approximately P3,400,000 for the mild-hybrid B5. The (not so) entry-level plug-in hybrid T6 AWD has a sticker price of round €60,000 (P4-M), while the mighty T8 AWD hovers in the €70,000 (P4.7-M) range. Truth be told, we’d be very happy even with the base B5 for as long as Volvo Philippines brings back any wagon.
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