Best off-road wagons in 2021

Sooner or later, owners of city sedans and hatchbacks are faced with the need to replace their car with a more spacious or better off-road option. If funds allow, you can buy an SUV. And if it's too expensive? Then you can opt for an off-road wagon or a crossover. Both types have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, and for many it is the station wagon that turns out to be the best choice.

Why is an all-wheel drive station wagon better than a crossover

A four-wheel drive station wagon and a typical crossover have a lot in common. For example, increased ground clearance compared to sedans or hatchbacks. This allows you to overcome such defects in the road surface, which become insurmountable for ordinary cars.

All-wheel drive is another common asset, allowing safe driving on slippery roads. Finally, all-terrain wagons, like SUVs, are equipped with a range of high-power motors to cope with increased loads. And the last thing that unites them is the suspension adapted to more extreme driving conditions.

However, the differences are also enough:

• in SUVs, the entry / exit angles are sufficient to overcome irregularities with a large gradient, the station wagon in this regard does not differ from the sedan, therefore steep pits and humps for them are a serious and often insurmountable obstacle due to the risk of sitting "on their belly" with all the ensuing consequences ... The large wheelbase, characteristic of long station wagons, only contributes to this;
• but this is what allows the station wagon to feel great on roads with relatively good surface quality, but with difficult terrain, with a lot of sharp turns. For a crossover, a winding track is a deterioration in stability due to a too high center of mass. To neutralize the difference, crossover designers make the suspension stiffer, which helps to avoid dangerous rolls when entering a sharp corner at speed, but driving on uneven terrain becomes too uncomfortable;
• Another important advantage of the station wagon is the size of the cabin and the luggage compartment. Here they leave behind not only SUVs, which usually have a small trunk and a little cramped in the cabin, but also sedans.

By virtue of the above, the number of supporters of off-road station wagons is quite large, and the world auto industry is sensitive to these requests, offering a considerable number of models that satisfy this type of car.

Consider a small rating of the best representatives of the category of off-road station wagons.

Audi A6 Allroad Quattro

The rating of all-wheel drive station wagons is headed by a premium business class model (according to the European classification - a cross-station wagon of the E segment). It is as practical and roomy as its classic sibling, as comfortable as a sedan, and has versatile off-road properties like a crossover.

The fourth generation Allroad Quattro was first presented in the summer of 2019, and the presentation was virtual (more than six months before the start of the pandemic!). And already in the fall, sales of new items started in most of the world's leading markets.

With a length of 4.95 m, the car has a standard ground clearance of 13.9 cm, which can be varied between 12.5-18.5 cm thanks to the use of air suspension. The cross station wagon has a well-shaped luggage compartment with a capacity of 565 liters. When the "gallery" is folded, the boot capacity increases to 1680 liters.

In Russia, the IV generation A6 Allroad Quattro is offered with two powertrain options:

• a three-liter turbocharged diesel engine producing 250 "horses";
• a gasoline engine of the same size, equipped with a 340 horsepower turbocharger.

You can buy a station wagon in three trim levels: Base / Advance / Business. The cost of the basic model with a diesel engine is 4.26 million rubles, with a gasoline engine - 4.44 million. For this money, you will receive 6 airbags, alloy wheels, an electric rear door, dual-zone climate control, a modern media center with an 8.8-inch screen, LED optics, two parking sensors, a powerful audio system with 9 speakers, heated front row of seats and mirrors, systems ABS / ESP. Air suspension is already available in the database.

A mid-range station wagon costs from 4.44 million with a diesel unit and from 4.62 million with a more powerful gasoline unit. The top version of Business will cost 4.64 / 4.82 million rubles, respectively.

Subaru outback

For a number of years, among the best off-road wagons there has been an all-wheel drive car, located in an affordable price segment and representing the mid-size E class, but claiming to be a premium in terms of equipment.

The 6th generation cross-station wagon is currently available, which debuted in the spring of 2019 at the New York Auto Show. In the fall, the Subaru Outback appeared in American car dealerships and then in other leading markets.

From its predecessor, the station wagon inherited the basic concept laid down in it by the designers, improving all indicators, from the exterior to the technical filling.

With a length of 4.86 meters, the Subaru Outback has a ground clearance of 22.1 cm - comparable to most urban SUV models. But the main advantage of the Japanese station wagon is a truly huge trunk, 920 liters in normal condition. With the second row of seats folded down with an almost flat area, the luggage compartment volume increases to 2,145 liters.

The range of motors includes two gasoline units:

• the base is a 2.5-liter 182-horsepower engine;
• an alternative is a turbocharged 2.4-liter engine capable of producing 260 "horses".

As a transmission for both motors, an eight-speed Lineartronic variator is used, All-wheel drive is implemented on the basis of a multi-plate clutch, the thrust vector is controlled by the proprietary Active Torque Vectoring system.

The exit of the sixth generation cross-station wagon on the Russian market is expected in 2021, and then the configuration and price level will become known. In the USA, the model costs from $ 24,600 (about 2,000,000 rubles), while the basic equipment includes 4 airbags, a media center with a 7-inch display, climate control, 17-inch alloy wheels, full power accessories, a radio with 4 speakers, adaptive cruise control, rear camera, ABS / ESP systems and other options.

Top configurations are equipped with a premium music center with 12 speakers, 18-inch wheels, LED optics with turning headlights, dual-zone CC, heated rear / front seats, a whole range of smart systems.

Volvo V60 Cross Country

In third place in the ranking of the best off-road station wagons is a premium mid-size station wagon from a well-known Swedish brand.

The second generation of the Cross Country was first demonstrated in the fall of 2018, and also in the form of an online presentation, which became relevant in 2020.

With a body length of 4.78 m, the car has a ground clearance of 21 cm - an average for a SUV and excellent for a station wagon. The luggage compartment has a volume at the level of good sedans, 529 liters, and with the rear sofa folded in the trunk, you can fit up to 1440 liters of luggage, including long ones.

The all-terrain V60 Cross Country station wagon is offered with two two-liter engines, a 190-horsepower turbodiesel and a turbocharged 250-horsepower gasoline unit.An eight-band automatic is used as a transmission, four-wheel drive is based on the use of a multi-plate clutch capable of transmitting up to 50% of the torque to the rear axle. There is an Off-Road mode, which is activated when most of the torque is needed from the rear.

The basic configuration will cost about 3.2 million rubles, and to become the owner of the top-end configuration, you will have to pay at least 4 million.

Opel Insignia Sports Tourer

Among the best all-wheel drive station wagons, one more representative of the German car industry is deservedly included, which, despite the rather pretty price tags, belongs to the representatives of the high class - the E-class according to the classification adopted in the Old World.

Practical, beautiful, dynamic car. The second generation of the cargo-passenger model was announced at the beginning of 2017, and in almost all respects the station wagon repeats the characteristics of the liftback, on the basis of which it was designed.

The luggage compartment of the car is large - 540 liters, which can be increased to 1640 liters. The platform with the rear row of seats folded is flat, about 2 meters long.

The Insignia Sports Tourer is equipped with petrol and diesel engines developing 110-170 horsepower. They are assisted by a six-speed manual transmission, four-wheel drive is not present in all trim levels, but it is equipped with individual couplings.

The basic version costs about 2 million rubles, for the premium configuration you will have to pay at least 2.9 million rubles. The equipment of the cross-station wagon corresponds to the level of the car.

Kalina cross

The domestic model, which debuted in 2014, closes the top 5 off-road wagons. Its main and very significant advantage is the price. For all other indicators, the car is noticeably inferior to the leaders. So, the ground clearance indicator here is 18 cm - this is more than that of the classic station wagon, but falls short of the average in its category.

The volume of the trunk is also too small - 355 liters, which is less than that of most sedans, and even with the "gallery" folded, more than 670 liters will not fit there.

The engines are also rather weak - an 87-horsepower 1.6-liter unit and its older 106-horsepower counterpart, which can be paired with a five-speed mechanics or a Ladovsky "robot". And even the suspension of the off-road "Kalina" is not too different from that of a conventional car, it is only slightly improved, which allowed the car to receive the Cross attachment.

And now for the pleasant: in the basic configuration, an all-terrain station wagon costs from 535 thousand rubles with relatively good equipment. The top option costs from 578 thousand.

What to choose

If it doesn't matter with the budget, but there is no desire to take on credit, there remains either a new domestic station wagon or used cars, which we will talk about next time. A normal off-road wagon for less than 2 million cannot be purchased, and options are already possible here. Pay attention to the equipment, and if it suits you and is identical in two different models, it is hardly worth overpaying for the brand.