“We should have had a Ford Probe wagon. Wagon or shooting break.” So decreed Matt, which leads us to today’s Autopian Asks query, see title, as well as my worst (but fastest) Photoshop job below, depicting just what such Probe Break might have looked like. And dare I say it (the car, not the Photoshop) looks kinda good? Obviously, it needs a real design, but yeah – it could work.
Jason suggested the machine I featured in the topshot, the “Intermeccanica Mustang,” a 1966 concept seen farther below that I think looks simultaneously jaunty and hearse-y, the perfect machine for a spirited drive while delivering a deceased person to the hereafter, if not quite as elegant as Harold’s E-Type take.
As for me, I’ve always been partial to Pontiac’s wagon riffs on the Trans Am, because they’re equal parts goofy (screaming chicken) and cool (gullwing rear windows, those wheels), see bottom image.
Your turn: What Car Should Have Gotten A Wagon Version That Never Did?
Top graphic image: Intermeccanica
CT5-V with the manual and a fuel tank commensurate with its fuel consumption.
I loved the original Ford Barchetta, and if they hadn’t changed the design, I would have bought one.
Seems like that could have been a nice wagon version too.
2nd gen Eclipse might be neat.
Jensen Interceptor- gets rid of that fishbowl in the back
The Prius V needs to come back.
I still very, very much regret not buying one of those when they were still in production. We almost bought one, but the daughter’s child seat blocked the back window too much for my wife’s liking.
All of them?
Well, quite.
Inclusive “Yes”
Although some of these are available outside of the USA, I would love to currently be able to buy a new Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Honda Civic. I also would have liked a Dodge Challenger wagon.
Wasn’t the Dodge Magnum basically a Challenger wagon? LX platform, Hemi V8?
I think you are right, I just always liked the design of the Challenger better and would have loved to see a 2 door wagon again. The Magnum felt more like a wagon version of the Charger to me.
Yeah, the front end of the Magnum was much more upright – closer to the 300 than the Challenger or Charger. I like the idea of a Challenger 2-door shooting brake.
The front end of the Magnum was much more upright – closer to the 300 than the Challenger or Charger. I like the idea of a Challenger 2-door shooting brake.
The GR86/BRZ would make pretty cool modern, affordable BMW Z3 coupe alternatives.
Toyobaru Clown Shoes!
Considering the Probe was built on the same Mazda platform as the 323, which did have a hatchback, I’d say we kind of did get a Probe hatchback.
Probe was a sibling of the 6, not the 3.
It was intended to replace the Mustang.
Though we never got the wagon version of the 626/Capella, Ford did badge the 626 as the Telstar for a time, Down Under and in Japan, including said wagon. So in a way it does exist, just not here.
The BMW X6, obviously 🙂
4th gen Lincoln Continental. Wagon with suicide doors? Sign me UP!!!
Imagine Oddjob hauling away a crushed Lincoln in another Lincoln.
El caminos/caballeros of the 70s and 80s. Yes, you can put a bed shell on them, but it just isn’t the same…
As much as Tesla’s do nothing for me, the Model S has the lines for a wagon.
Pontiac Solstice/Saturn Sky
Volvo C30
Saab 900
I mean, Technically, the Volvo V50 was the wagon form of the C30. It didn’t have the fun hatch glass, but it had the same drivetrain (and could be had with AWD). Same platform (P1)
Welcome to the Saab 900 Safari
https://saabworld.net/wp/1981-saab-900-safari-nilssons-karosserifabrik/
Ash 78 beat me to it on the Fusion (nee Mondeo) wagon for here in the states, but how about a final gen Taurus wagon as well?
The look of the original Taurus wagon is striking, even now. I was a kid when it debuted, and it looked, even more than the sedan, like something you’d drive around a future lunar colony.
The Taurus looked like a space ship on introduction! I was a kid too.
11 years old. Dad brought home a white Taurus SHO. The first iteration only came in manual. I remember popping the hood and seeing the spaghetti lace manifold on the Yamaha engine that red lined around 7k. That day I knew three things – I was going to drive it immediately, I was going to be an engineer, and the 3rd thing isn’t appropriate for this venue. BTW they did mock up a SHO wagon, though of course it never made it to production.
X type wagon says what?
Touche!
All sedans and fastbacks, whether family-oriented or sports-oriented. If I have to pick one, I’m going with the Kia Stinger.
Daughter has a gen2 Vibe, damn fine Corolla wagon. Toyota keeps flirting with this design.
Yeah, current Corolla hatch is no Vibe/Matrix when it comes to utility. They really didn’t bother with back seat or cargo area.
Sorry to hear, the exterior form factor seems to fit.
I kind of wish the G70 Wagon had made it to the US. I would much rather have that over the GV70
All of them
Yeah, I hate being generic about this kind of thing, but truly wagons are just “sedans but better” in my opinion. I still fondly remember my family’s 2005 Focus wagon. The thing was deceptively roomy.
I hate that it sounds like I’m being snarky because I’m not (for once). I’ve owned a Jetta, I liked it, I own a Jetta wagon, I love it. It’s basically the same car, I can just fit way more stuff in it. And because of the design, I can fit way more in it than can fit in a lot of SUVs, and I don’t have to ride so high up. I’ve driven an Explorer for a while, and I really don’t care for feeling like I’m above the other cars. I get to still drive a car, but have the utility of an SUV, what car wouldn’t that improve?
Every rule needs an exception. The 60’s boat-tailed Riviera should never be a wagon. That ungodly-expensive-to-replace rear glass is glorious as is and should never be molested in the name of convenience. Plus 60s-70s PLCs had trunks that are plenty large enough without a longroof.
I was told Miata is always the answer
OMG imagine a Miata version of the p1800es!!!!! WOW!!!!!
With a Miata Italia front end, and the rear a Kammback hatchback.
100% this.
If I could buy a Miata/MX5 that I could fit an MTB into I wouldn’t have needed to buy my Z4 Coupe or my GT86.
You could fit a mountain bike in a Z4 Coupe?
Yep, 26” wheel full suspension Orange Sub 5.
Wheels off, slide the bike in, drop the wheels on top. It was actually much easier than posting a bike through the stupid tiny trunk door on the 86.
I just picked up an ’07 e86 Z4, and I wouldn’t have thought you could cram a bike in there. I am impressed!
You can only fit a bike in the 3.0, the M has the battery higher up in the trunk because of the exhaust system.
I absolutely loved that car, and random people would come up and tell me they loved it too. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I’ve seen all sorts of external bike mounts on Lotus Elises.
External bike racks are for people who don’t drive through rough areas.
The same forum had photos of console mounted holsters for ready access.
I’m in the UK, so I’d need a console mount for a withering look.
The British Lotus forums were quite entertained by that bit of customization!
THIS
I cannot fault your logic good sir.
If it means I can scootch/lean the seat back far enough to fit in and drive it, then sure, do it Mazda! Otherwise, I’ll continue to not care what they do with it.
Yes. Never thought of that. Now I can’t not think of that. https://www.carscoops.com/2022/08/mazda-mx-5-shooting-brake-concept-rendering-looks-pretty-rad/
The Jeep Gladiator. (just for fun)
Considering the amount of Gladiators I see with bedcaps or filled with overlanding equipment such that you can’t use the bed for anything else, it might as well be a wagon.
A wagon would have the ability to get heat and air back there for dogs also.
Heat is easy.
All you need is a hot water line and power.
7 series BMW, Mercedes S-Class and 8 series Audi. They probably wouldn’t sell but I’d love an Audi S8 Avant
There were S-Class wagons made
Aftermarket – and they never turned out all that well.
I would say the AMG S73 Wagon was factory
And you would be wrong.
AMG created them in 1996 when they were still an aftermarket operation – well before MB took a controlling stake of AMG in 1999 – using a collection of S Class, CL Class and E Class body parts.
It was built by AMG who had a factory
AMG did not have a factory.
It had shops where they did modifications of Mercedes-Benz cars that came from Mercedes-Benz factories.
Even now – the only thing AMG manufactures at Affalterbach are engines – not whole cars
Peaches come from a can, they were put there by a man in a factory downtown
Friend had an S6 wagon.
I immediately understood that.
Rendering: https://www.carscoops.com/2015/08/2017-audi-s8-avant-plus-rendering-might/
The most recent WRX models.
The world is a better place when the WRX is a wagon.
100% true!
they do sell WRX wagons in mexico and other places
Yes.
I cannot understand what Subaru’s thought process was eliminating the hatch.
Right! Because sedans sell so well? It was great. There was this “Look we need a family car lets get this wagon” moment for enthusiast parents.
To be fair the “family car” utility of wagons was somewhat diminished once kids couldn’t ride in the back anymore.
Not every crossover is 3 row and wagons were an alternative to minivans.
Oh I know but back in the day wagons were great for carrying a large gaggle of kids to a birthday party.
2 up front, 3-4 in the back seat, 4+ in the way back.
That’s why I said “somewhat”.
It’s a real missed opportunity for Subaru to Subaru.
Toss the bicycle/paddleboard/whatever into the back without a worry.
Especially since they proceeded to try and make it look like a Crosstrek sedan.
OK
https://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/SUBARU/LEVORG/700056001030250302009/
It exists but It is not sold here.
I really wish the current Civic had a wagon, a good friend of mine is in the process of buying an HR-V because the liftback Civic was *just* short of space for the big boxes he occasionally transports for work.
The HR-V seems to fill the role of Civic wagon just as the Corolla Cross does for the Corolla.
The Civic has more drivetrain options and a slightly nicer interior, and the dynamics and fuel economy would have been a plus (it’s 5mpg better with the same engine)
He liked both the Mazda 3 and Impreza when we went out for test drives, but the Mazda suffered from less optimized packaging (the roof line eats a lot of space and the rear seats don’t fold down very neatly) and clunky Android integration, while the Subaru was saddled with an interior designed by an Indotyphlops Braminus and an infotainment UI designed by the makers of the pop-up ads that show up on illicit torrenting websites.
Would have gone with an hrv if it had a stick. The civic hatch is too tight in headroom
The base model Civic hatch formerly came without a sunroof – which fixes that issue. The sunroof on the Civic really encroaches into the cabin.
Still does in nonhybrid Sport, just that’s the ‘base’ now on the hatch, with the LX sedan only; hybrids all get a moonroof all the time.
But no stick hatch any more either without going Integra.
This rover is a sort of civic wagon
https://www.aronline.co.uk/our-cars/our-cars-alexanders-rover-tourer-happy-25th/
That’s pretty cool, the taillights kinda look like they’re from an alternate-dimension E36.
Hr-v exists to sell the better cr-v. The smaller 1st gen hr-v has something the 2nd gen doesnt.
I would’ve agreed before I tried both. The 2nd gen isn’t as good as the 1st, but I was surprised to find that it pretty handily outclasses the current CR-V, in my opinion.
The CR-V’s rear seats don’t fold down level with the trunk, creating a substantial step, the 1.5L turbo is breathless at the revs that the CVT chases up a hill, the hybrid has enough torque to get out of its own way, but costs noticeably more and sacrifices the spare tire for the battery. The HR-V’s 2.0L is slower, but feels more responsive and doesn’t sound as labored up a hill despite worse performance on paper. The handling was better than the CR-V (Civic-based, not a big surprise), which somewhat mitigated the lack of acceleration.
The 2.0L has been around a while and its reliability record is a good bit better than the 1.5. This was a top priority in his purchase. The HR-V also had an incredibly roomy engine bay, which bodes well for serviceability down the line.
The interior of the CR-V has more features, but the HR-V has a more thoughtful center console layout that’s both narrower and more useful, with clever cubbies and USB-C ports. The front seats fit a little better due to the narrower console.
My wife has a 2001 CR-V, and compared to that, I found the new CR-V really disappointing in terms of packaging, it felt like a traditional “big car” where minimal effort is spared on packaging, rather than the Honda cleverness I’ve grown used to. It punches below its weight class. The HR-V lacked the Magic seats of the previous gen and was still not as clever as the 2001, but was far and away smarter than its current big brother.
The CR-V is far more stylish, though. I’ll give it that.
Ford Fusion/Mondeo — in the US
Honda Accord — in the US
Toyota Camry (did they even make one in non-US markets?)
VW Passat, US version. Would have at least made it “useful boring”
Wait, can I just say ALL THE CARS?
This… Extra points for a manual 2.0T Accord
Accord 2.0T 6MT wagon?
Or a proper Civic TypeR wagon?
The former would be an easier self-justification, and a much more subdued vehicle for everyday. But the latter could stretch the Civic hatch to more useful proportions.
The Accord did get a wagon in the US:
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a44155264/1991-honda-accord-ex-wagon-by-the-numbers/
Of course, Camry as well…I just meant anything in the modern era, the last couple generations, even at risk of cannibalizing their precious crossover sales 🙂
Kinda forgot rear passenger. My mom looked at them then dropped cash on 92 Explorer.
No sound insulation for the rear seat. Loud back there. Dunno the rationale for only caring about the front seats, but it didn’t work.
Nothing a bit of carpet padding won’t fix. Throw in some Alcantra and you’ll think you’re in a Bentley or Maybach.
I’d add the Focus too. Dealers reported a decent amount of customer disquiet when Ford killed it here. Sure, crossover cannibalization, but a lot of people seemed to like a small, car-sized carryall.
It was wild times when Ford was selling both a wagon and 4 door hatchback version of the Focus.
Also about the same time when Ford was producing 2 2-door cars (the Focus hatch and the ZX2) that weren’t the Mustang! Seems like ages ago now.
Basically any mid-size car should have a wagon version. This is an odd choice, but I always felt the Chrysler “cloud” cars and Neon would have made interesting wagons. I admit to owning a Stratus and liking it. They had roomy trunks and back seats to begin with, handled great, and had good styling for the time.