Station Wagon Review

Wagons are back, but don't call them wagons

Station wagons are back, but now they're called something else -- anything else. "The first rule of selling station wagons is, don't talk about station wagons," says Los Angeles Times auto writer Ken Bensinger.

The original mommy mobile nearly went extinct in the 1990s, replaced first by minivans and later by SUVs. But now that SUV sales are suffering from low fuel economy, and minivans are suffering from their own mommy stigma, carmakers -- and consumers -- are turning to wagons again. Five new wagons have been introduced for 2009 with more reportedly on the way (see our What to Look For page). But now they're called crossovers, sport wagons, compact-utility vehicles or five-doors.

"In the new world 'station wagon' brings up PTSD style flashbacks of 1970s Country Squire wagons with a roof-rack and eight kids in the back on the way to summer camp," writes Alex Dykes at The Truth About Cars. BusinessWeek dubs traditional wagon styling "the kiss of death with American consumers." So new wagons often sport bulked-up bodies to look more like SUVs, Bensinger points out, however, that this often means lower gas mileage.

To find out which wagons are the most fuel-efficient, we consulted data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and independent mileage tests conducted by Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports is also the best place to find out how reliable a wagon is; editors have been conducting extensive reader surveys on dozens of models for years. For safety data, we turn to crash tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Consumer Guide, Edmunds.com and Car and Driver magazine are additional valuable sources of expert reviews for nearly every car on the market. But to get a feel for what a wagon is really like -- whether it's saddled with a slowpoke engine, or its interior just feels chintzy -- we find the blunt-spoken reviews at The Truth About Cars the most telling. Reviewers there seem to genuinely like wagons, but they're quick to warn readers away from a bad buy.

Experts say serious safety problems lurk beneath the 1940s throwback styling of the Chrysler PT Cruiser (*Est. $17,750 to $24,260). It is the only small car to earn a rating of "poor" in both side and rear crash tests at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

If a pickup or SUV hit a PT Cruiser side-on at 31 mph, "rib fractures and/or internal organ injuries would be likely" for the PT Cruiser's driver, the IIHS found. Because the PT Cruiser doesn't have side airbags in the backseat, the rear-passenger test dummy's head hit a pillar. Both the driver and backseat passengers risk neck injuries and fractured pelvises in such a crash, found the study. The IIHS also notes that the PT Cruiser doesn't offer electronic stability control, which studies show is important for avoiding crashes. "The PT Cruiser doesn't offer the same crash protection level as other small cars," IIHS Senior Vice President Joe Nolan concludes.

The PT Cruiser, introduced in 2000, won Motor Trend magazine's North American Car of the Year award in 2001. Critics were enthralled with its retro profile, and consumers snapped it up so fast dealerships had to start waiting lists. But other small wagons, such as the top-ranked Pontiac Vibe (*Est. $16,735 to $21,510), now offer better reliability, resale value, fuel economy and safety. The PT Cruiser's good points -- including a convenient removable rear seat -- are overshadowed in reviews by its major problems. Chrysler sold 81 percent fewer PT Cruisers in December 2008 than in December 2007, and the company has announced that 2009 will be the PT Cruiser's final year.

It can be hard for reviewers to figure out exactly what constitutes a wagon these days. The wagons covered in this report are built on car platforms, with room for five to seven passengers and their cargo. Micro-vans with sliding doors, such as the Mazda5, are not included (see our report on minivans). Crossovers with SUV styling, such as the Subaru Forester, sit higher off the ground than a standard wagon. We cover crossovers in our reports on SUVs.

Small hatchbacks like the Honda Fit are sometimes called wagons. However, true station wagons are usually longer, with a larger cargo area and higher roofline. In general, a station wagon will have a more comfortable backseat than a hatchback. Hatchbacks like the Fit are covered in our report on economy cars.