Estates Leading The Way Style Wise

Panda Moanium

Perhaps because of years living abroad I've long been a fan of estate cars, seeing them as the thinking person's choice - more practical than their saloon counterparts without losing anything in handling capabilities or dynamics. Now while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I would also argue that certain premium models such the BMW 3 and 5 Series Touring, the A4 Avant and the Volvo V50 have long been better looking than their saloon counterparts.

Against that however, for more mainstream models, the estate has historically been the poor relation looks wise. Few would claim the Focus Estate, the Mitsubishi Lancer Estate or the outgoing models of the C5, Mazda6 or Vectra to be anything other than practical workhorses.

But that seems to be changing....are mainstream estates becoming the new catwalk models of the motoring world? We've already had the Peugeot 407 SW - a very smart looking car, and VW's Passat is pretty stylish also (and also selling well judging by the number on the road). Even the new Mondeo Estate can hold its own against the saloon or hatch.

This year has seen the arrival of the Mazda6 Estate and the Citroen C5 Estate, either of which I would easily have over their saloon siblings. And I've just been looking at photos of the Opel Insignia Estate (sorry these are Vauxhall photos) which is surely the best looking estate from GM ever.

Of course we have long had an aversion to estate cars in this country. It's probably unlikely these new models will do much to change that.

E92

Panda Moanium wrote: »

Perhaps because of years living abroad I've long been a fan of estate cars, seeing them as the thinking person's choice - more practical than their saloon counterparts without losing anything in handling capabilities or dynamics. Now while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I would also argue that certain premium models such the BMW 3 and 5 Series Touring, the A4 Avant and the Volvo V50 have long been better looking than their saloon counterparts.

Against that however, for more mainstream models, the estate has historically been the poor relation looks wise. Few would claim the Focus Estate, the Mitsubishi Lancer Estate or the outgoing models of the C5, Mazda6 or Vectra to be anything other than practical workhorses.

But that seems to be changing....are mainstream estates becoming the new catwalk models of the motoring world? We've already had the Peugeot 407 SW - a very smart looking car, and VW's Passat is pretty stylish also (and also selling well judging by the number on the road). Even the new Mondeo Estate can hold its own against the saloon or hatch.

This year has seen the arrival of the Mazda6 Estate and the Citroen C5 Estate, either of which I would easily have over their saloon siblings. And I've just been looking at photos of the Opel Insignia Estate (sorry these are Vauxhall photos) which is surely the best looking estate from GM ever.

Of course we have long had an aversion to estate cars in this country. It's probably unlikely these new models will do much to change that.

Completely agree.

The continentals love estate cars. We absolutely hate them for some reason.

I think they are a vastly superior choice to an MPV or particularly an SUV.

I REALLY don't get what people see in an SUV or an MPV for that matter.

They don't have the comfort, performance, driving dynamics, quietness of a regular saloon, and as for space an estate has them licked. If I wanted a car with 7 seats, I'd want a Volvo V70, or an A6 Avant or an E-class, not those MPV yokes.

The whole reason they're so popular is because all the yummy mummys have them and people have a snobbish attitude towards them IMO.

PS the Insignia estate is drop dead gorgeous

crosstownk

E92 wrote: »

Completely agree.

+1

I'd prefer an estate to a saloon version anyday. For some unknown reason estates don't prove too popular in Ireland.

I'd sooner drive an estate, but unfortunately I have to drive what I'm given.

Holsten

Wow.. first time seeing the Insignia Estate, fantastic looking.

TomMc

Yes, the buying/motoring public Ireland was and still is somewhat unsophisticated compared with continental Europeans.

I think in the past most estates looked a bit slab sided, like they were just an afterthought. A stretched saloon with the styling of a hearse. Rather than styled as an estate from the outset or in their own right.

Irish buyers are very conservative and always preferred saloons even to hatchbacks which is the complete opposite in say the UK.

Maybe Estates had the image of a travelling sales rep type of vehicle which turned people off, wanting to keep up appearances etc.

Nowadays they are styled in such a way that they are far more pleasing on the eye and have the kind of real world practically that no saloon could match. Estates are true lifestyle vehicles.

Unfortunately the herd mentality means the masses follow the Jones buying MPV's & SUV's. Years back women had no say when it came to buying a family car, maybe just the colour and that was it. Today they very much wear the trousers when it comes to what vehicle will be bought in one car families.

TomMc

Apart from sales reps, estates were only embraced as vehicles by rural middle Ireland. People who are cultured enough to know better and not duped by public whims, fads or fashion. MPV's & SUV's many of which are agricultural in dynamic terms or glorified panel vans appeal to the undiscriminating masses and red necks.

Although the Forester always had the dynamic credibility and 4x4 authenticity which is lacking in most MPV/SUV's. Yet due to the lack of a diesel till now, one of the least successful in marketing terms.

All these MPV's & SUV's I cannot warm to at all, give me a rugged Land Rover Defender anyday.

endplate

Also on the market is the Alfa 159 sportwagon. (Sorry I'm an Alfa nut):)

boomerang

I have dogs so I always have to be practical when buying a car... My last car was an Opel Astra estate, and boy, it was a great ol' car! I'd previously driven a 1.6 Suzuki Vitara which was cramped, underpowered and ATE petrol... It got to the point where I just couldn't afford to run it anymore - and that's before the recent fuel price hikes!

The Astra was so practical, comfortable and economical... It got written off in an accident three weeks ago. I've now bought a Citroen Berlingo. The only reason I switched from the estate is that I was rear-ended, and had I brought the dogs with me on that trip, they would have been done-for. At least in the Berlingo I can put them in a crate behind the front seats, away from the crumple zone. But I miss the comfort of an estate. I agree there is a peculiarly Irish snobbery towards estates - none of the males in my family would be caught dead driving one! That said though, there seems to be thousands upon thousands of Ford Focus estates on the road, n'est pas?

Zube

E92 wrote: »

I REALLY don't get what people see in an SUV or an MPV for that matter.

Do any of the estates you mention have three individual rear seats? Last time I went shopping, after eliminating all the cars with a rear bench designed for two adults the only things left were MPVs and the Peugeot 307/8 SW.

Oh, and maybe some SUVs, but I hate them all, so I didn't check.

fricatus

I'm a big saloon fan myself. Not mad on hatchbacks, and as for MPVs, no thanks! SUVs are worse again!

One of these days though, sprogs will probably come along and I'll need practicality. An estate will definitely be my car of choice, since there's something genuinely sophisticated about a good one.

Thankfully my better half has some married-with-kids friends who have gone down the estate road (old BMW 5 series), rather than get a horrible SUV or MPV. It's got more style in one of its alloy wheels than all the 08 Kia or SSangYong jeeps put together, and it's perfectly practical for two small children. If it ever comes to it, I'll be arguing "well they have a BMW estate!".

Couldn't agree more with the first two posts by the way...

voxpop

People buy SUVs because of the extra visibility, perceived safety (because they are big, they are more safe:rolleyes:) and of course keeping up with the jones syndrome. BMW X3 is a prime example.Useless, ugly, mess of a car and still it sells like crazy - ive seen about 3 or 4 pop up around me - like weeds they are

Rowley Birkin QC

I think the current Passat estate looks far superior to the saloon version. Saw a lovely one in black lately. Don't care for the looks of the saloon at all really now that I think of it.

Biro

The advantage is the good 2nd hand value to be had on estates! They're a great buy!
On the extra seat thing - up to very recently the majority of "MPV"s had no 3rd row of seats either!

biggus

I think the Irish have an aversion to estate cos they used to be associated with painters,plasterers & plumbers bought second hand from sales reps.

My sons garage sold twenty Ceed SWs in July and hardly any 3dr or or 5dr hatches not to mention hardly any suv's. Lots of space for 20k and 150 road tax compared to a rav 4 etc. Good looking car too. About time people copped on , maybe its proof that tax incentives used correctly, really do work. ( Can't see them lasting at the lower rates)
BTW heard Landrover sold 4 new cars in Ireland in July.

My favorite estate would be a 535d with M sport kit although could easily live with 520 D Auto m sport.

unionman

Delighted to see this topic emerge, couldn't agree more. Was looking at the new Renault Laguna Tourer yesterday and it is a really well designed car. Aesthetics more than match the saloon.

Estates are a great antidote to the SUV/MPV epidemic. On space where it counts they are far better than any MPV.

Looking at Audi A4/A6 and Mercedes E200 estates as a possible next car. Though I can't get the Laguna off my mind either....

Eoin

E92 wrote: »

I think they are a vastly superior choice to an MPV or particularly an SUV.

I REALLY don't get what people see in an SUV or an MPV for that matter.

They don't have the comfort, performance, driving dynamics, quietness of a regular saloon, and as for space an estate has them licked. If I wanted a car with 7 seats, I'd want a Volvo V70, or an A6 Avant or an E-class, not those MPV yokes.

Estates have more space than an MPV? I would have thought that there are a lot more MPVs than saloons with a proper middle seat in the back. Those cars you are talking about are estate versions of large exec class cars, so of course they will be bigger. I doubt that an estate version of a car like the 3 series or 156 would offer much more space than an MPV.

One small, but valid reason for getting an MPV rather than an estate is less bending over to manoeuvre kids and everything that goes with them.

Zube

Biro wrote: »

On the extra seat thing - up to very recently the majority of "MPV"s had no 3rd row of seats either!

I'm not too bothered about the third row (although our S-Max does have two folding kids seats on the boot floor), I'm talking about the second row. THe only estate I know of with three seats in the second row is the 307/8 SW.

Cmar-Ireland

I agreed OP. Most estates are better looking than their saloon counterparts. My last car was a BMW E34 estate, and IMO vastly better looking to the 4dr version.

-Chris-

I've been a big estate fan for years too, not because I need the space but because I like the look (not of all of them, mind you...).

PaulieC

Subaru Legacy Estate / Outback s are easily some of the best looking cars out there. There are some mingers though, I think the Honda Accord Tourer is one, although the new model improves on this somewhat

Esel

'94-'97 US designed and built Honda Accord Aerodeck was one of the first decent-looking estates. They used the front end from the Coupé, which helped! http://www.autoweek.nl/images/480/c/da2a2d0877541966376edfef3dc80f3c.jpg

L-M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8PjH_m0F_8

Tragedy

Wow, the bland laguna looks transformed as an estate.

Balfa

Maybe I have to stand next to it to appreciate it, but the Insignia estate looks a little too mini-vanish for me.

The rear really reminds me of some Japanese minivan on sale over here. Can't remember which

WHITE_P

E92 wrote: »

I think they are a vastly superior choice to an MPV or particularly an SUV.

I REALLY don't get what people see in an SUV or an MPV for that matter.

They don't have the comfort, performance, driving dynamics, quietness of a regular saloon, and as for space an estate has them licked. If I wanted a car with 7 seats, I'd want a Volvo V70, or an A6 Avant or an E-class, not those MPV yokes.

A pity some people are so negatively biased towards certain types of car's.

Many of the current MPV's are every bit as good as the saloon / hatchback / estate car's they are based on (Fords S-Max / Galaxy for example) and provide much more flexability than either saloon, hatchback or estate variants could. I changed from a Passat to to Touran recently and find it a great car to drive, have used all seven seats regularly, and its not as big overall as any of the above mentioned, nor does it have the same snob value thankfully. It's also fun to drive on back roads, as it handles as well as any other car I've had with sports suspension.

As for SUV's, if someone has a genuine need for one then why should they be scourned by people who obviously can't think for themselves. Shame on the Dublin 4 / yummy mummy brigade for getting these vehicles such a bad name.

It is good to see many new estate cars being designed as cars in their own right rather than some sort of after thought on the manufacturer's part.

Anan1

WHITE_P wrote: »

As for SUV's, if someone has a genuine need for one then why should they be scourned by people who obviously can't think for themselves.

Of course. If.

RobAMerc

I have always preferred the Estate versions of just about every Saloon car out there (the S-Line A6 estate is just mouth watering) - but I have found that they do have some drawbacks - road noise is a big one with the wheel bays almost in the car with you and the volumetric area often serving to amplify the sound of road rumble into the passenger cabin. Although I notice the covers now days do have sound deadening in them they still aren't the same.

V40 kicks the S40's a** in style too.

the smelly dog jumping into the back seats is the other

Anan1

There's also the slight loss of rigidity inherent in an estate, as any Impreza turbo enthusiast will tell you.

mike65

Limerick Man beats me to the TG clip!

The w124 estate always looks a picture of muscular authority esp in the right colour (black/green).

http://www.amistad.co.uk/images/Vehicle/Vehicle_26_1.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/W124-estate-face-lifted.jpg

Mike.

G Luxel

I was looking at the toyota price list for Ireland and there is no Toyota Corolla estate. The next up was the Avensis and was only an aura model so the company isnt bothered selling luna/sol versions. I agree with someone who stated that Irish people only buy mid-size saloons and dont bother with hatchbacks or estates....

mike65

Renault Megane Saloon
Renault 19 Chamade
VW Vento/Polo(Derby)
Vauxhall Astra Belmont

are just some of the more hateful cars in recent decades.

Mike.