2010 BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon

The 2010 BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon -- critics' perennial favorite premium station wagon -- loses its top spot this year to the 2010 Audi A4 Avant (Base MSRP: $35,350). The Audi wows testers with its beauty, perfect crash ratings and standard all-wheel drive, all for a lower price than the BMW. The 2010 BMW 3 Series wagon gains standard HD radio and loses its standard sunroof, but is otherwise unchanged; for a full analysis, see our page on the 2009 BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon (*Est. $36,025 to $37,925).

The 3 Series wagon lineup includes the rear-wheel-drive 2010 BMW 328i Sports Wagon (Base MSRP: $35,700) and all-wheel-drive 2010 BMW 328i xDrive Sports Wagon (Base MSRP: $37,700). Both seat five and feature a 230-horsepower, 3-liter, inline six-cylinder engine mated to a choice of six-speed manual or automatic transmissions. Fuel economy is an estimated 21 mpg combined (18 city and 27 highway with automatic transmission; 17 city and 26 highway with manual transmission; 17 city and 25 highway, 20 mpg combined with AWD).

Like the 2010 Audi A4 Avant, the BMW 3 Series wagon earns the highest rating of Good in front, side and rear crashes at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (neither car has been tested for rollover roof strength). However, in government crash tests, the Audi's 5-star ratings all-around surpass the BMW's 5-star side-crash scores and 4-star frontal and rollover ratings. The 2010 BMW 3 Series station wagon includes the usual list of desired standard safety features: front, front-side and curtain airbags, antilock brakes and stability control.