Station Wagons: Expert and User Reviews

Our AssessmentEdmunds.com reviews pretty much every car on the market, based on hands-on road tests. Editors recommend two wagons in each of four price categories, from less than $20,000 to more than $40,000 based on results of those tests. The roster features mostly returning champs, but for 2011 the BMW 5 Series is gone; the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes Benz E-Class are new winners.

Our AssessmentTesters at Car and Driver magazine list the highs and lows of each 2011 wagon in this Buyer's Guide. You can filter the results to find seven Editors Choice wagons, including two of Car and Driver's 2010 10Best Cars -- the BMW 3 Series and Cadillac CTS-V.

Our AssessmentThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts front-, side-, rollover- and rear-crash tests on most cars. Several Top Safety Picks are wagons or are available as wagons: the Nissan Cube, Scion xB, Audi A3, Subaru Outback, Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen, Audi A4 (available as Avant wagon), Mercedes E-Class (available as wagon), Ford Flex, Lincoln MKT.

Our AssessmentThe most fuel-efficient 2011 wagons according to EPA estimates are the diesel Audi A3 TDI and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI. The least efficient wagons are the Cadillac CTS Sports Wagon and the Mercedes Benz E350 4matic wagon.

Our AssessmentReviewers at U.S. News and World Report rate cars numerically in five categories - Performance, Exterior, Interior, Safety, Reliability - and total the scores to find overall winners in each segment. The editors gave several wagons a #1 rating: the Subaru Outback (Affordable Full Size Wagon), Hyundai Elantra Touring (Affordable Compact Wagon) and the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon (Luxury Wagons).

Our AssessmentThe Wall Street Journal tests five station wagons to find the best. Each wagon gets numeric scores for ride/comfort, performance, fuel economy, exterior, interior and value, plus a brief write-up. The Volvo XC70 rates worst because it "just isn't much fun to drive." The diesel Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen gets the best fuel economy, the Subaru Outback offers the best value and the Audi A4 Avant is small but with "jewel-like" beauty. However, the overall winner is the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon, which impresses reviewer Jonathan Welsh with its horsepower, handling and attention to detail. The Wall Street Journal also reviews a few other wagons in its Autos section, including the Nissan Cube and both regular and EcoBoost versions of the Ford Flex.

Our AssessmentReviewer John Beltz Snyder drives the BMW 3 Series Sports Wagon and Acura TSX Sport Wagon back-to-back in a quest to determine the better car. He tests the vehicles during a snowy Michigan winter, and evaluates everything from each car's mechanicals to the sound the exhausts make to driving dynamics. The front wheel-drive Acura fares better on slippery roads than the rear-drive BMW, but Snyder says both are "a hoot" to drive. In the end, he decides the BMW is the better car, but only by a small margin.

Our AssessmentKiplinger is an organization best known for providing extensive financial advice, and they extend that specialty to the automobile market. Part of their analyses is the annual Best in Class list, which singles out the one vehicle in each segment that is the best value. The Subaru Outback wins a Kiplinger best in class top spot for the second time (also in 2009) due to its good resale values, large cargo capacity and capable performance.

Our AssessmentGreenerCars.org is an independent organization that tracks fuel economy and emissions statistics for production vehicles. Each year the editors compile the most efficient and clean vehicles into an accessible list. The Best of 2011 list contains many wagons - the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI, Kia Soul, Volvo XC70 - proving that capability and economy are not mutually exclusive.