Sometimes it’s a little cathartic to admit that something dear to you is also maybe a little ridiculous. Doing so frees you from the burden of having to justify and defend your object of affection from any rational standpoint because you just come out and admit that rationality is not part of the deal. You can let yourself just like something, period, even if that thing really doesn’t make any sense. That’s where I think I’m at with one of my favorite car body styles, the two-door station wagon.
Yes, a two-door wagon! These are really pretty rare now, as in our modern era two-door cars in general are getting pretty rare. But a two-door wagon is even more so, as they really don’t make a hell of a lot of sense, objectively.
Now, I feel like I should clarify something here: I’m not talking about shooting brakes; those are two-door wagons, yes, but they’re two-door wagon sports cars, and as such they’re entirely freed of the burden of making any practical or rational sense. Shooting brakes are their own category, and not the same as just a two-door wagon. Remember this chart?
Shooting brakes are conceptually different than two-door wagons. A two-door wagon is something like the Chevy Nomad:
It’s just a station wagon, but only with two doors. This is sometimes done for styling reasons – maybe the Nomad rides the line of shooting brake, but I’m not sure. Sometimes, a two-door wagon is made because the small overall size of the car could make the addition of two extra doors difficult, or, more likely, just too expensive.
Take the Chevy Vega wagon, for example:
I always thought these Kammbacks were cool. Actually, maybe that one should count as a shooting brake? Look at those wheels, and that GT badge! Well, if so, then we have plenty of other examples, like the Opel Kadett Caravan:
That is just a two-door wagon. It looks like some back doors could have fit there, too. So, here we have a good example of why these make no sense. It’s a family car, designed to haul people and stuff, but you still have to squirm into that back seat like it was a coupé? It really is sorta silly. But I still love it.
The Germans seemed to like two-door wagons. Volkswagen had a few, including the Type 3 Squareback:
I never miss a chance to show a Type 3 cutaway, because I love the packaging so much:
VW also had a two-door wagon for their larger, more upscale Type 4, and this one really baffles me and drives home the madness of the two-door wagon. Because if we accept that VW didn’t make the Type 3 Squareback a four door for cost/size reasons, then how do we explain this:
The VW Type 4 wagon had only two doors, but there was a fastback version, built on the exact same platform, that had four doors, as you can see right above there. So… why didn’t the wagon have four doors? There’s definitely room, and of those two cars, the wagon is the more likely family car that would really need four doors, so what the hell was VW thinking? The wagon could have been the same as the fastback to the C-pillar, then had the wagon rear? Why didn’t they do that? I’m baffled.
I mean, Chevy pulled it off with the Corvair wagon, which wasn’t that much bigger, really:
I think one of the best examples of the two-door wagon madness may be this 1958 Dodge Regent, which had both two- and four-door wagon variants:
These were not small cars. And there was no difference in size between the two- and four-door wagons:
So… what was the point of the two-door wagon? It’s not really any sportier, the design overall is pretty much the same, it’s just a good bit less convenient, for no really good reason! It makes no sense!
And yet, I think it’s cool as hell, and of the two, I’d probably pick the one with half as many doors. Because I have brain problems, I suppose. I can’t think of any other reason to justify why.
I love two-door wagons. And they’re ridiculous. I’ve made my peace with that. I hope you can, too.
My mother had a Type 3 Squareback and a Mini Clubman estate at various times and yes, a complete pain dropping multiple kids off on the way home from school. I couldn’t understand why Ford Europe only brought out a 3 door Escort estate version of the 1980 ‘World Car’. For once the American mothership got it right and brought out a 5 door wagon from the start and Europeans had to wait three or so years.
Ford Europe was keeping to Escort tradition – the Mk1 and 2 estates were 2-door only, even though there was a 4dr saloon available. The 2-door estate also gave them an easy conversion to the “Escort Combi” panel van, that was cheaper than the normal Escort van, and used the 2-door estate body without rear side glass, while the normal van had a raised roof and a more vertical back end with twin barn doors. I suspect there was also some concern that a 4-door Escort estate would take sales from the more expensive Cortina/Taunus estate.
Opel/Vauxhall launched the Astra/Kadett around the same time with a 2-door estate (following the tradition of the previous Kadett/Chevette), again adding a 4-door later, and BMC/BL’s 1100/1300 Countryman and Austin Allegro also only offered a 2-door estate when the saloons were available with 4 doors.
There was also a rather pretty Alfa Giardinetta version of the original AlfaSud. Not sold in the U.K. but when I was a kid a red one would appear at the VSCC Prescott event every year and got more attention than a lot of the exotica around it.
2 door wagons and shooting brakes are both fabulous! But yes different things.
2 door wagons are fabulous.
And the Lynx XJS Eventer is the gold standard!
Omg! People who think 2 door wagons are awesome!
I am finally home! ( sobs quiet, happy tears)
I’ve always loved wagons of all sorts, and on the rare occasion that I encounter one with two doors, I tend to drool a bit with envy. Not having kids, I always fold the back seats down (both rows of back seats if the vehicle has a third row, as both my XC90 and 240 wagon do) and they tend to stay folded down for the life of the car. I just don’t need (or want) to carry more than one (human) passenger at a time often, yet I do need to carry large/bulky items at least twice a month on average. So, folding down unnecessary seats it is, and I almost never use the rear set of doors, so a two-door would be fine… preferred even.
Two door wagons also usually look better too, with fewer cutlines in the body of the car. That Type 4 above, in that lovely shade of blue with those dual sealed beam headlights in a chromed recess… it’s just kind of gorgeous.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those in person ever. I should go to more VW shows probably.
As a shooting brake owner, I get the ludicrous appeal of the 2 door station wagon. It’s stupid, but in the best way possible.
Back in the day, the scuttlebutt back at the precinct house was that two-door cars were better chariots for parents with tiny tots. The thought was, with no back-door handles for little escape artists to fiddle with, those adventurous “it seemed like a good idea at the time” tykes in the back seat couldn’t suddenly vanish into the wild, bustling world of traffic! It was less about seatbelts and more about giving those mischievous munchkins one less way to stage a daring dash. It was even better for those with windows that only opened a little, as the ventilation-starved mini-mes couldn’t even stage a daring dash out the window.
From these examples, it seems to be that another difference between a 2-door wagon and a shooting brake is the number of windows that are formed by pillars. A wagon seems to have three distinct windows on each side (so an A, B, C, and D pillar) and a shooting brake only has two (only A, B, and C pillar).
Where does that leave the Ford Escort Estate and Austin Allegro Estate?
Shooting wagons? Estate Brakes?
Well, it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for me then. Because those two break the rules that I set
I feel the same about 2 door SUV’s. Especially non-convertible SUV’s. My ’77 Cherokee is a 2 door. AMC lovingly converted the 4 door Wagoneer into the Cherokee by… changing the roof, and leaving the standard small front doors. It’s absurd and I love it.
I never cared much for Ford Pintos, but the wagon was superb. Way nicer than the “sedan” or hatchback variants, and way more long-lived than any Vega wagon.
At the time of introduction I was somewhat enamoured with the Mazda MX-30 EV, particularly the interior design, and that it rear half-doors a la Saturn coupes and Honda Element. Was hoping something plug-in or hybrid would evolve from that but alas it was not to be.
There is a rotary range-extender version, but it may not have been sold in the US
https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/mazda/mx-30-r-ev
People with young kids used to buy two doors so the kids couldn’t open the door and fall out, but this was before car seats.
Two door wagons and shooting breaks can look great or stupid – they’re really dependent upon proportions. The Nomad is still the gold standard as it is just such a balanced design. I don’t think it worked once the cars got bigger than the Tri-Five Chevys.
I feel like they did a two-door Chevelle wagon early on, I should go see how that looked.
I’m mainly a small and sports car guy, but I love these and personal luxury coupes and part of the appeal is exactly because they’re gloriously stupid. On an actual use basis, I don’t transport enough passengers often enough that I would be bothered by the impracticality. That Dodge, though, I think actually looks better as a 4-door as what I like about the 2-doors is the usually longer door lends more sporting lines to the pillars and the increased visual tension from the reduced distance between the pillar and rear wheel, and these don’t look appreciably longer and the thinner pillar works against any increase in tension, so it appears to me more like it’s missing doors. I have the same issue with the few cars out there that just use the front doors of the 4-door version. On a more practical note, I also like the longer doors while driving as the pillar is set behind me more than alongside so the car feels more open. Major bonus if it’s a pillarless hardtop. One of the dumb customs I would have made were I loaded would be a 2-door mk1 Legacy wagon with the fender flares extended out something like a Legacy 22B wagon and I’d take that over any modern exotic (hell, I’d take a stock manual FWD Legacy over any new exotic, for that matter . . . actually, I’ll take the exotic and sell it, pay off the house, and buy an old Legacy and a late ’70s Caprice coupe).
I think the 2 door wagon looks more aesthetic due to the smaller c pillers. So it turns it from a 3 box looking wagon to a 2 box or maybe one giant long box.
It does make sense if you get rid of the rear seat
So the VW Type 4 was supposed to have gotten a 4-door (technically 5) wagon, but VW axed it because there were fears it would cannibalize Passat wagon sales. According to literature, a prototype 4-door wagon was built, but I’ve never been able to track down a photo. This is especially irritating to me because the stillborn Type 4 notchback prototype is on display in a VW museum, but the 4-door wagon prototype doesn’t even have a photo left.
It’s because less practicality means cooler, generally. Practicality (usually) isn’t cool.
Those Vegas were very quick cars in their times in fact they were the fastest. To the junkyard.
The case for the 2dr wagon was the same reason that 2dr cars used to be so popular, young kids. Back in the day before all the crazy car seats and child door locks, the 2dr was the safe choice to keep the un-belted kids from falling out the back doors when one of them accidentally opens the door, or it just wasn’t closed in the first place. 2dr wagons were also cheaper to build and usually sold for less, so for those new parents that were watching their money, the 2dr kept a little more money in their pocket.
It wasn’t until your kids got to be teens that the 4dr became the practical choice. Now of course young ones are strapped in 7 ways, by the leaning over parent most cars have child door locks on the back doors.
I’m always at peace with things don’t make sense,two door car is cool, that’s all i need, two door wagon? even better, that Vega wagon looks so good i wish they bring back the design, but not the 70s quality.
“Sometimes it’s a little cathartic to admit that something dear to you is also maybe a little ridiculous.”
Yet I still keep coming back here!
I think my wife may adhere to this belief also. It’s the only way I can explain the last 30 years.
Existing answers are good, allow me to add another. Before vans as we know them existed, there were two vehicles you could buy to do the job of a van.
The Panel Delivery was based on an existing pickup, but with the load space enclosed in steel.
The Sedan Delivery was a two-door, based on a Station Wagon, but with the rear side glass replaced with steel. Many/most manufacturers offered Sedan Deliveries, and 2-door station wagons used most of the same stuff, so two-door wagons solved 2 problems with one design.
The last Sedan Delivery sold in the US was based on the Vega. But if the Vega wagon is actually a shooting brake, maybe the Vega panel is actually a “shooting delivery” 🙂
Chevy HHR Panel? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxFhNIgouMA
It’s really neither a Sedan Delivery nor a Panel Delivery, as it’s not really based on an existing car or truck. It’s just its own thing.
This made me think of Jeep XJs first and I definitely prefer a 2 door XJ to a 4 door (though I think they are prone to more door sag due to the longer, heavier doors). Can all of this be applied to 2 door/4 door hatches? I also prefer a 2 door GTI (RIP!!!) to a 4 door. In the instance of these 2 vehicles, the b pillar is less in your way as well which I prefer as I like to put my seat all the way back.
And now that I think about it, this can be applied to some sedans/coupes as well. Ford Focus sedan vs coupe I believe was the same length, just different door counts and I think the 2 doors had longer doors just like the XJs and GTIs.
Now I’m just going down the rabbit hole. I used to have a Mini Clubman, a 2009 to be exact, and while a 3 door, I did like the look of the driver side with it’s one door better.
I also am a huge fan of deuce-door wagons! I even have one, a 1988 VW Fox, which is double-awesome as it’s one of the few cars to ever have made it to our shores that’s built in Brazil. It’s my tide-me-over until I can afford to import a nice Brasilia, another excellent little two-door wagon (probably more of a hatchback).
As I was reading I started thinking maybe the early rationale behind the two-door wagon was to make sure the kids don’t escape (I have no idea when child-locks became a thing). Then I saw that add for the ’58 Regent and nope – they show the rather sullen nose-picking kid right there in the back seat, ready to make a break for it anytime he chooses.
Two door wagons are simply the wagon version of a two door sedan. And they were somewhat popular for a couple of reasons. The big one simply that you wanted the cargo hauling ability but didn’t need to haul extra people around. And they were cheaper. My two wagons could just as easily have only two doors because I very, very rarely have anyone sitting in the back seat as a single dude with no sprogs. And two fewer doors and all the extra frippery accompanying them meant they were cheaper.
Which is also why two door sedans were popular back in the day – they were cheaper, and entirely adequate for hauling kids around in the days before children had to be strapped into their own individual crash capsules. Germany was POOR after WWII, every Mark saved counted.
The Vega wagon almost meets the definition of shooting brake other than IMHO part of what makes a shooting brake is that it is “bespoke”. Needs to be limited production. And the car doesn’t necessarily need to be sporting, rather it just needs to be intended for “Sport” in the same sense as the “Sport” in Sport Utility Vehicle – aka hunting and fishing. So a bespoke wagon built out of a Rolls-Royce Corniche is still very much a shooting brake, even though that is roughly as much of a sports car as the Sears Tower is.
The Vega, especially in early chrome bumper form, was a really spectacularly good looking car. Shame they were such epic heaps of shit. My great-grandparent’s last ride was a baby blue ’77 Vega wagon. Black vinyl interior, AM radio and the automatic and not one single other option in true Yankee fashion. No power steering or brakes. I drove that turd a few times in high school. Had all of 19K on it when they died in 1995. He hadn’t driven it more than to the grocery store down the street in years.