Top 10s: Wagons we want

Story by John LeBlanc Foreign-market station wagons are the car nutters' holy grail. As practical as some crossovers and SUVs, but with the ride and handling of a regular sedan, traditional wagons have been sent to the scrap heap in North America. Somehow, though, wagons are still as popular as ever in more car-savvy countries. With that said, here are the top 10 wagons we want to see in Canada:

Audi RS4 Avant Quattro

How does 450 horsepower and a 0 to 100 km/h time of 4.5 seconds sound for a vehicle that can get your kids to Saturday morning hocked practice? Not bad, eh? Those numbers belong to Audi's RS4 Avant Quattro, essentially a wagon version of the RS5 coupe we get in Canada. As such, the A4 Avant-based RS4 comes with a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre eight-cylinder gas engine, mated to a seven-speed, dual-clutch automatic transmission.

BMW 5 Series Touring

Germany’s BMW once thought Canadians were worthy of their super-flexible 5 Series Touring. But with the addition of the hard-to-figure-out 5 Series Gran Turismo hatchback/crossover/thingy for 2010, a 5er wagon has not been available here in Canada. While you can’t buy a 5 Series wagon today, there have been rumours that BMW may bring back the Touring when the next-generation 5 series arrives, mainly because few buyers are interested in the 5 GT.

Citroen C5 Tourer

The likelihood of any Citroen coming to our shores is virtually nil. But that only makes wagon lovers’ hearts grow fonder for the C5 Tourer, a stylish and practical version of the French automaker's mid-size range. Sure to bring back memories of Citroens of the past, the C5 Tourer comes with a tres-French super soft suspension, allowing the car to glide and waft along bad roads, with plenty of room in the back to bring along your baguettes.

Honda Civic Tourer

It's been almost 20 years since Japan's Honda sold a Civic wagon in Canada. Ever since, we've had to look overseas in jealousy to countries where the super-practical and fun-to-drive Civic hauler is still sold. Take for example the European-only Civic Tourer. Just unveiled last month at the Frankfurt auto show, the Civic wagon sports either a 118 horsepower 1.6 L four-cylinder or a 140 hp i-VTEC 1.8. None of which are coming to Canada anytime soon.

Hyundai i40

How do you like the look of this Hyundai wagon? It's the mid-size i40, or what we know as the Sonata. The wagon variant of the i40 was released in Europe and South Korea in September 2011, followed by the Australian and New Zealand markets — but not in Canada. And that's too bad. Because while other automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Subaru (Legacy), Mazda and even Volvo have stopped importing their wagons, wouldn’t a Sonata wagon work well here?

Mazda6 Wagon

Like a lot of models on this list, Canadians once had a shot at buying a Mazda6 wagon. But not since 2006. Of course, other markets get the stylish Mazda midsize hauler. And the latest arrived last year. As much as we like the new Mazda6 sedan, the wagon is arguably the better looking car, with an aggressive stance, sexy curves and subtle touches of chrome that elevate the Mazda family sedan above some its more mundane competition.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate

If you want a Mercedes-Benz station wagon in Canada, the German automaker forces you to pop for the mid-size E-Class. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Between 2002 and 2006 there was a wagon version of the compact C-Class. Of course, the C-Class wagon is still sold in Europe. And the one we want the most is the C63 Edition 507. It makes — guess what? — 507 horsepower from its 6.2 L eight-cylinder gas engine, with a claimed 0-100 km/h time of 4.3 seconds.

Skoda Octavia vRS

Nutters have always wished for a Volkswagen Golf GTI Wagon. But you can’t even get one of those in Europe. But what you can get over there is the Skoda Octavia vRS, basically a Golf wagon with a bunch of GTI go-fast parts. Using a 217 horsepower version of VW’s ubiquitous 2.0 L turbocharged four-cylinder gas engine, the Octavia vRS can do 0 to 100 km/h in a claimed 6.8 seconds. The Skoda can also be had with the same 181 hp turbodiesel that we’ll see in the next Volkswagen Golf GTD hatchback — sweet!

Volkswagen Passat Wagon

The cancellation of the last-generation, German-made Passat sedan and wagon instead of the current U.S.-made Volkswagen midsize sedan meant having to say good-bye to one of the most versatile autos you could buy. Europeans can still opt for the Passat Wagon, and the one we'd pop for is the one Canadians used to be able to buy: the 200 hp turbocharged, 2.0 L gas-four (straight from the GTI) with a rare-for-class six-speed manual, delivering a 0 to 100 km/h time of 6.5 seconds.

Volvo V70

With the decision to focus on its more SUV-like XC models, Volvo stopped importing the V70 to Canada after the 2010 model year. And while it may be the forgotten Volvo, the V70 was more than likely the car you associate most with the Swedish brand. With Volvo's excellent seats, real cargo room, and refined handling, the V70 station wagon was a sophisticated crossover alternative for hauling people and their stuff — the last example of what Volvo does best: station wagons. This article was originally published at Driving.ca

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