10 Wagons We Wish Were Sold in the US

In recent years, wagons have been usurped by crossovers, so they haven’t sold very well in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean they aren’t popular elsewhere in the world.

It seems like automotive enthusiasts love wagons because they are just as practical as crossovers yet drive more like cars, but no one really likes buying them. At the end of the day, unless owning a wagon is a necessity, most shoppers in the U.S. opt for something sportier. In other markets, Europe especially, wagons are extremely popular, and that means the U.S. market misses out on some really hot yet extremely practical cars.

Here’s a list of 10 wagons that AutoGuide.com really wishes were sold in the U.S. – so that we could, you know, at the very least take them out for a drive and review them.

It’s arguable that the Volkswagen Golf R SportWagen is hotter than some of the other models on this list, but we opted to place it last because there’s a possibility that it still might make it to our shores. Boasting a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine with 300 hp and all-wheel drive, the German automaker did a very peculiar thing with the 2015 Volkswagen Golf R SportWagen: it brought it to the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. Maybe the company was gauging interest or maybe it was just teasing us and rubbing salt in our wagon-less wounds. Who knows, maybe Volkswagen does. Or maybe it doesn’t.

The latest Mazda 6 sedan has been a hit in the U.S. and it looks pretty good in wagon form, too. Powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 155 hp (there’s also a diesel!), the Mazda6 wagon is more than just a pretty face. In fact, if it was offered in America, it’d be a top contender for the ultimate affordable family car with its ample power, undoubtedly sporty driving dynamics and plenty of cargo space. It would also redefine what it means to be an attractive wagon. But blame the crossover craze as to why Mazda isn’t even considering bringing the wagon to the U.S.

Yes, we’re well aware that Peugeot doesn’t even exist in the U.S., but that doesn’t mean we can’t wish this French-made wagon was sold here. The Peugeot 308 was crowned the 2014 European Car of the Year, awarded by a jury of 58 senior European motoring journalists representing 22 European countries. And they couldn’t possibly all be wrong about how well the Peugeot 308 performs, right? The Peugeot 308 Touring can be had with either a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine or a 2.0-liter turbocharged diesel. The gasoline engine pushes 147 hp and 177 lb-ft of torque while the diesel engine provides the same horsepower but with 273 lb-ft of torque.

With all the hype that the next-generation Civic is getting after the debut of the stylish Honda Civic concept earlier this year, we can’t help but wonder how nice it would be if the Honda Civic Tourer was sold in the U.S. It’s a pretty good looking wagon. Some would say the Mazda6 looks nicer, but the Civic Tourer recently set a European World Record for fuel efficiency. Built on the same platform was the Honda Civic hatchback, the wagon variant has a longer rear overhang for the larger trunk, and it’s OK if you think it looks like a mini Odyssey. Engines for the Honda Civic Tourer include a 1.4-liter, a 1.8-liter and a 1.6-liter diesel.

BMW is a bit strange, offering its 3 Series Wagon in the U.S., but opting to leave the 5 Series Touring out of the market. Elsewhere in the world, the 5 Series Touring is offered in a rather huge selection of models: 520i, 528i, 535i, 550i, 518d, 520d, 525d, 530d, 535d and the range-topping M550d. Yeah, that’s a lot of 5 Series Touring models, and not a single one will ever grace the U.S., which is pretty tragic. Especially that M550d packing 381 hp and a ridiculous 546 lb-ft of torque.

Now that we’re in the top 5 of the list, it’s time to shove some performance wagons in your face to make you really wonder why the U.S. is so wagon-deprived. Powered by a 4.2-liter V8 with 420 hp and 317 lb-ft of torque, the Audi RS4 Avant just as powerful as it looks. Recently, there have been rumors that the German automaker might bring the Audi RS4 Wagon to the U.S. with a new turbocharged V6 engine with over 420 hp. “Europe is becoming a less important market, the U.S.A. and China are where we see growth happening,” said Heinz Hollerweger, head of Audi’s Quattro GmbH. “The U.S. is changing, and there is more demand there [for wagons], so maybe that will change,” said Hollerweger, when asked if the RS4 Avant would come to North America.

As an owner of a Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG, I can be completely honest and unbiased in saying that the CLA45 AMG Shooting Brake is a really good looking car. Yup. Powered by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 360 hp as the sedan we get in the U.S., the Shooting Brake just looks better in wagon form with a rear end that looks to be more fleshed out. Even in wagon form, the CLA45 AMG has a 0-62 mph time of 4.7 seconds.

You didn’t think if we put the RS4 Avant on the list that we’d leave out the RS6 Avant, did you? The larger, even hotter wagon from the German automaker has a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine churning 560 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s also 220 lbs lighter than its predecessor and gets a 24 mpg rating on the generous EU test cycle. The company estimates the wagon goes 0-62 in 3.9 seconds, making it one really fast grocery getter.

The Jaguar XFR-S Sportbrake is one of the most stunning, sporty and aggressive looking wagons available… outside the U.S. It comes from the factory with 20-inch wheels paired to specially developed Pirelli tires to make sure the 5.0-liter V8 with 550 hp doesn’t get entirely out of control. The British automaker claims it does 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, but we have a feeling it’s faster than that. It’s a real shame that we’ll never be able to test it for ourselves in the U.S. to see just how fast it really is. A real shame.

We can’t help but wonder why the Mercedes-AMG E63 Wagon is offered in the U.S. but the C63 AMG Wagon isn’t. It’s a bit backwards compared to BMW’s scheme of offering the 3 Series Wagon and not the 5 Series Wagon, but there’s a reason why we aren’t executives at a luxury German automaker. The entry-level C63 Wagon gets a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine with 469 hp and 479 lb-ft of torque, while the more powerful S variant pushes 503 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque from the same mill. The engine is mated exclusively to an AMG Speedshift seven-speed automatic driving power to the rear wheels. We’re starting to believe that the justice system should make it a crime not allowing vehicles like this to be imported into the U.S.