Wagon Stoke

[BmillsSkier]

Ya. I wish it was more inspiring because I liked driving it, it had great storage, fast and it did well in the snow - until I noticed the awd had utterly quit right before it got totaled.

It was an 04 w about 80k on it when it was about ~5yrs old I think. We had it for ~7yrs and got the odo up to 150k. The price was really good which made the 100k service cost go down a little easier. Also the ins paid us out well just 3k below what we had paid so it made the annual cost great in retrospect

I'm pretty sure the angle gear (awd) issue is with old Volvo's (similar to your 04). I remember slipping into the service area to grill a poor tech about it at the Volvo dealer when my wife was out test driving her XC70 because I had heard about it here and on sites like Swedespeed. He told me it was a prior design error that Volvo remedied and changed. IIRC they even paid out to owners of that era for the issue.

TL;DR it used to be a problem but isn't anymore.

[frorider]

http://truckyeah.jalopnik.com/the-20...bia-1793039416

The Volvo crosstrek details.

[BmillsSkier]

I normally hate crossovers with a level of ambivalence that they deserve, but that looks pretty damn sharp. Like a shrunken XC90 which is the best looking SUV out these days. Whoever is running the design team over there right now is earning their paycheck, that's for sure. Best looking stuff out of any of the luxury brands. Whoever is in charge of putting fake vents and hockey sticks on every damned car at BMW should take notice - and while he's at it, send a fucking 5 series wagon over here too.

[burrito]

I normally hate crossovers with a level of ambivalence that they deserve, but that looks pretty damn sharp. Like a shrunken XC90 which is the best looking SUV out these days. Whoever is running the design team over there right now is earning their paycheck, that's for sure. Best looking stuff out of any of the luxury brands. Whoever is in charge of putting fake vents and hockey sticks on every damned car at BMW should take notice - and while he's at it, send a fucking 5 series wagon over here too.

I totally agree. The Volvos coming down the pike are why I decided to try to hold out until later this year after I started looking for something new a month or so ago.

[basinbeater]

It's an 07. We like it. A lot.

[liv2ski]

My doggies can't jump up in a SUV, hence the need for a wagon for them and I just like a wagon better for me. God dammit, someone bring a wagon to the USA I gotta have that doesn't set me back $110k. Please.........

[burrito]

My doggies can't jump up in a SUV, hence the need for a wagon for them and I just like a wagon better for me. God dammit, someone bring a wagon to the USA I gotta have that doesn't set me back $110k. Please.........

I was hopeful when Honda released the Accord Crosstour a few years ago, but I think poor gas mileage coupled with interior space closer to that a standard hatchback than a full-on wagon sunk that ship. It's a shame they never took a second crack at that car.

[jackattack]

Crosstour was not a wagon. Why they didn't go full steam at the outback I will never understand.

[BmillsSkier]

Crosstour was not a wagon. Why they didn't go full steam at the outback I will never understand.

I'll take it one step further. Why does BMW make a lifted half attempted wagon-turned hatchback version of the 3 series as well as a half attempted wagon-turned hatchback version of the four door version of the two door version of the 3 series? Also why do they make a half attempted wagon-turned hatchback version of the 5 series that's actually on a 7 series chassis? Also why do they make a half attempted coupe-turned hatchback version of the X5 that's supposed to be the lifted version of the four door version of the two door 6 series?

I'll tell you why. Because too many Americans are willing to fork over good money for any shit design that's slightly lifted like a sport utility but still (in some distant universe) considered sporty, in that soccer-mom-appealing demo called a crossover. And wagons are still thought to be driven only by east coast pseudo-intellectuals, liberal arts college freshmen, and the partridge family.

The fact that actual car enthusiasts like wagons is lost on the general public and whose cries are only really heard on places like this one and jalopnik.

[jackattack]

I understand but Honda already had/has more shitty crossovers (not unlike BMW) than I can keep track of and the Crosstour was a complete flop!

How many outbacks does Subaru sell? Does no one else want part of that market? I mean vw just released the alltrack but it's significantly smaller and more expensive. The tdi golf sportwagen we just sold back was a driving revelation after 5 years in an outback but the tsi is comparatively underpowered due to excessive turbo lag. Will not buy.

[burrito]

How many outbacks does Subaru sell? Does no one else want part of that market?

You gotta believe every brand outside Subaru has done their due diligence on that question and come up with the answer that it's more profitable to devote their resources to another crossover than to a wagon.

An interesting note on the Outback -- many recent reviews and best lists I've read make a point to say that it fits the modern definition of a crossover SUV better than the traditional definition of a wagon. I'm not sure if that's writers being more open-minded and literal about what you should actually be calling a "crossover," or if, just like the number crunchers in the auto makers' accounting departments, they know their article will get more hits if they put the car in that category.

[BmillsSkier]

I'm not sure if that's writers being more open-minded and literal about what you should actually be calling a "crossover," or if, just like the number crunchers in the auto makers' accounting departments, they know their article will get more hits if they put the car in that category.

Bit of both I'm sure. It's the same reason you can walk into a Volvo dealer today and test drive a new V90 XC but have to special order a regular wagon: the same car just not lifted, V90.

Anything that appeals to the crossover buyer in America wins, everything else is secondary. I think I heard that the Honda CRV is the best selling car in America, not a Camry or Accord for once (or close). That's all you need to know. Which is bad for car people. Doubly so for wagon fans.

[jackattack]

Bit of both I'm sure. It's the same reason you can walk into a Volvo dealer today and test drive a new V90 XC but have to special order a regular wagon: the same car just not lifted, V90.

Anything that appeals to the crossover buyer in America wins, everything else is secondary. I think I heard that the Honda CRV is the best selling car in America, not a Camry or Accord for once. That's all you need to know. Which is bad for car people.

crossovers are so much easier for the obese to get in/out of and reach the drive-thru window.

[burrito]

crossovers are so much easier for the obese to get in/out of and reach the drive-thru window.

Ha. I've always thought crossovers' bulbous silhouettes were a little too close to the bulbous silhouette of the average American.

[bodywhomper]

Remember the cvcc and Tercel with 4wd-type equivalent. Why'd they stop importing? Didn't there used to be a Camry wagon. I once crashed an accord wagon during a test drive....

[jackattack]

Goddamn you Fat'mericans

[burrito]

Remember the cvcc and Tercel with 4wd-type equivalent. Why'd they stop importing? Didn't there used to be a Camry wagon. I once crashed an accord wagon during a test drive....

A '92 Camry wagon was my high school car. It was the absolute best.

[El Chupacabra]

Toyota made the Venza, which was basically a Camry wagon with ugly styling. Don't know if still produced.

[The Tortoise]

Goddamn you Fat'mericans

Um. The US got that wagon in the form of an Acura. Canada didn't, I have no fucking clue why since we tend to buy more wagons.

Venza...Don't know if still produced.

They recently announced it would be discontinued.

Then there's the assholes at Subaru that tempted us with this:

[El Chupacabra]

Drove home yesterday behind one of those wagons. IIRC the Acura TSX wagon was based on the European Accord (like the TSX sedan) and not on the larger American Accord pictured in post 571.

I remember test driving the TSX wagon when it was new. 4-cyl and manual transmission. Just couldn't bring myself to go back to FWD... If only Honda had made it in AWD.

[The Tortoise]

the larger American Accord pictured in post 571.

EDIT - The car in post 571 was just an artists rendering. Not an actual car.

http://www.thisweekinmotors.com/next...agon-rendered/

[El Chupacabra]

EDIT - The car in post 571 was just an artists rendering. Not an actual car.

http://www.thisweekinmotors.com/next...agon-rendered/

Damn. It looked good.

[frorider]

Then there's the assholes at Subaru that tempted us with this:

Hey man I Liked the Bring The Subaru Levorg to NA Facebook page. #struggleisreal. #doingmypart

[BmillsSkier]

That's the best looking Subaru I've seen in years.

[burrito]

That's the best looking Subaru I've seen in years.

Probably because there hasn't been a new Subaru in years.