- All right guys, listen up.
Just because you need a vehicle with practicality and space
doesn't mean you have to go and get some big, dumb,
boring SUV.
It doesn't even mean you have to go spend a bunch of money
on a cool and supposedly "fun" SUV.
While a Durango Hellcat sure would be, well buckets of fun,
there's no reason you should have to pay $80,000
for something that is going to inevitably handle
like a wet noodle and get eight miles a gallon.
Because despite popular belief, 700-horsepower doesn't have
to get bad gas mileage.
It's the weight and the aerodynamic size of that vehicle
making it suck at being efficient,
just to be able to haul around
some stuff every once in a while.
But what if I told you
that you can get into a vehicle with SUV practicality
with mid-size sedan efficiency
and enough performance to still be fun
and put a smile on your face
every time you push the "go" pedal
or chuck it into a corner.
Would you even believe me?
Well you should, and today I'm going to prove it
because I want to let you guys take a sneak peek
into my secret list of the most fun station wagons
that you can buy for a pretty reasonable amount of money.
But before we get into all of this kind of crazy stuff,
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Let's get let's started.
Let's start by taking a step back to the year 1994,
back when Buick meant less expensive Cadillac
and not more expensive Chevrolet.
Anyway, Buick took their largest flagship luxury vehicle,
the Roadmaster and tossed in a modified version
of the Corvette's LT15.7 liter engine.
Now when I say modified,
I don't necessarily mean more power.
I actually mean less power and better drivability.
That means an iron head instead of aluminum
and a less aggressive cam for more low-end power.
Anyway, this was a full-ass size, 260 horsepower
300 ft-lbs of torque, rear wheel drive,
kind of Corvette powered Impala SS-ish station wagon.
These cars are cool.
This was before AMG made station wagons.
There was no real wagon competition in the US,
but they still did it anyway.
And with it's subdued style and SUV-like handling
and quickly dated fake wood panel trim, nobody really cared.
And that's why today,
these cars can be had in really solid condition
for 5 to $7,000.
Now you're probably not going to win any races
with these things because they're huge,
but they do have a honkin' V8, they do fantastic burnouts,
and it has a pop-up third-row seat
that you won't even use
but it's pretty fun to look at and show people.
They're awesome cars.
I freak out every time I see one,
and people look at me all weird like nobody cares,
but I really feel like it's because none of you know
how sick these cars are.
Anyway, I digress, let's move on.
Keeping in the same era,
Volvo was pulling some of the same (bleep) as Buick
when it comes to a super sleeper station wagon.
A company that was known
and realistically still is known
for making safe and boring cars actually slid out
some super performance wagons in their time.
More specifically,
I'm referring to the 1996 Volvo 850R Estate.
The 850 R Estate looked just like
the regular old boring Volvo with
its rather square and boxy design they were known for,
but under the hood was a turbo charged,
2.3 liter inline five cylinder engine
that produced 240 horsepower
that was built to last pretty much forever.
That's V8 numbers at the time
but in a smaller package, and a more aggressive power curve.
And all it took was a less restrictive exhaust,
and a little bit more boost to make 300 wheel horsepower.
300!
In 1996!
Hell even today 300 wheel horsepower is good enough
to run a mid 13 quarter mile.
And it will pretty much hold its own
against most cars on the street today.
The engine wasn't the only change for the R trim either.
These things had stiffer suspension,
larger sway bars and Alcantara interior pieces.
The Volvo wagons were the epitome
of hauling stuff and people all over the country
with an engine that makes barely less power
than a newer than it Audi S4 with a
bigger engine and twin turbos.
It's hard for me to comprehend that these weren't
more desirable than they were.
Alas, these never really took
off outside of your Volvo enthusiasts community
which is extremely unfortunate because on paper
these things check most of the enthusiasts' boxes
and they really deserve more recognition
for being that nearly perfectly well-rounded vehicle
between handling power, utility, reliability
and even comfort.
And in my opinion, these cars' looks are timeless
in such a subtly aggressive manner.
The spoiler on the hatch, the lip molded into the bumper
and oh my God, that five cylinder exhaust sound.
(engine revving)
I think what ultimately led to this car not catching
on in the United States is the fact
that a manual transmission wouldn't be an option
in North America.
And although manual swaps are pretty straightforward
and common in the Volvo community,
the car kind of missed its entire mark
and probably won't ever receive the love that it deserves
on a large scale.
Which is why these cars are still really, really cheap.
Again, you're probably looking at 5 to $7,000
for a car that will literally do it all and last forever.
The Volvo 850R is one of the greatest wagons of all time.
Now if you thought Volvo was done
making cool station wagons that nobody knows about,
you're still wrong.
Just a couple of years ago, Volvo actually
dropped their brand new V90 wagon in T8 trim.
It's certainly not as racy as the letter R
but what T8 does mean is that this luxury station wagon
has a supercharged and a turbocharged two liter
engine producing 315 horsepower
with a big old boost from an 86 horsepower electric motor
for combined output of 401 horsepower
and 472 ft-lbs of torque.
Allowing this 4,600 pound log
to get to 60 in under five seconds.
Not bad for a two liter from Volvo.
All this tech will cost you a little bit though.
These cars are still selling
in the high thirties and getting into the low forties.
But there's no way we could get away from the 90's
cool wagons without making a stop at the BMW
M5 Touring of the E34 generation.
Now the US never officially actually got any of these cars.
But of the 891 hand-built M5 Tourings produced in the world,
it's noted that about 30 or so did make it to the US
and have become federally legalized.
And they even made some of these California legal.
Anyway, these cars are so freaking cool
just in regular M5 sedan trim, but in wagon form
these things took on a whole new evolution.
The E34 M5 utilized a 3.8 liter inline six,
which was quite large for six cylinders of any kind
at this time.
And it produced over 330 horsepower, naturally aspirated.
In 1992!
At that time that's more horsepower
than the LT1 powered Corvette at the time.
With less cylinders and a lot less displacement,
and still naturally aspirated,
which just absolutely blows my mind.
These cars are seriously awesome.
But they are quite expensive at the tune of around $60,000.
But it had to be brought up because
I know at least I lost my mind
when I learned about these cars,
and I felt like you deserve to know.
Anyway, moving on to something a little more obtainable.
Coming around in 2005 for the 2006 model year,
Dodge's new lineup of modern performance cars
had just dropped onto the scene with an all new
6.1 liter SRT8 engine, pumping out 425 horsepower.
And they pretty much dropped that boy in everything.
You're talking Challenger SRT, Charger SRT
the Grand Cherokee SRT, and even the Chrysler 300 SRT.
And then, they decided to give Dodge's newest station wagon,
the Magnum, the SRT treatment.
SRT Magnum is quite literally a 300 SRT station wagon.
Even just scanning the roof line and the quarter panels
and fenders and even the B and C pillars,
the DNA of the 300 is all there.
With an added luggage space.
Now, I'll be the first one to admit the overall quality
of these cars inside and out has dated the car very quickly.
But, there's just something about a muscle car station wagon
with big, red Brembos that gets me all excited.
Especially considering you can pick one of these up
for 10 to $15,000 for a really, really nice one.
That's a lot of performance for the money
and it's something you don't see a whole lot.
Now if you've ever seen any of my other videos where I talk
about performance bargains, you'll know that I talk about
the W211 chassis Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG quite a lot.
Not just because I take my own advice and I bought one,
but because it's genuinely one of the best performance
bargains of the modern era.
If you want to see it in action, go check out my Instagram.
Anyways, in 2005 and 2006, Mercedes-Benz
imported just 193 of his AMG trimmed E-Class wagons
to the United States.
That means 469 horsepower
and 515 lb-ft of torque, eight piston Brembo brakes,
heated, vented and massaging seats
in a low 12 second station wagon? What?
That is absolutely bonkers!
When these cars came out, it was the world's
quickest accelerating and fastest station wagon
until they beat themselves with the later E63 AMG wagon.
Now, since these cars are legitimately quite rare,
they do demand premium money.
I've seen some that needed a lot of sorting dip down into
the 16, 17, $18,000 range,
but most of them with medium to higher miles
are still selling in the mid to low twenties
and is for sure one of my attainable dream cars
that I would like to have someday.
And it is one of the only cars
in this price range to legitimately compete
with way more expensive cars than itself,
at least in a straight line.
Getting into more modern territory,
another AMG makes the list.
In 2012, the E-Class AMG wagon went
from a 6.2 liter, naturally aspirated V8
and opted for a smaller 5.5 liter V8
but with a pair of turbo strapped onto it
good for 550 horsepower and almost 600 ft-lbs of torque.
And the cool thing about these
is that they're nine years old.
Too old to kind of be bought by the wealthy
yet still too expensive to end up in the hands
of a bunch of youths and get trashed and neglected.
These cars are really quite reliable,
easy to tune and modify.
And although $40,000 for one
of these cars is a lot of money,
it's certainly in an obtainable car
that with a quick flash of the ECU
will have you murdering Hellcats while hauling
four adults with all of their luggage in the back,
all while keeping it classy and not garnering any attention
from law enforcement while you mob down Highway 41
like it's the fricking Autobahn.
And last but certainly not least, the 2021 Audi RS6
is an absolute game changing monster of a wagon.
Now I've always been a huge fan of the Audi A6 based
all road, and the RS6 takes it to a whole new level.
This station wagon is just nine digits shy of 600 horsepower
and 600 ft-lbs of torque.
And get squeezed through
one of the best all wheel drive systems of all time,
Audi's Quattro system.
And that power comes from a 4 liter twinturbo V8,
which is a variant of the same engine
used in the Lamborghini Urus, the RSQ8,
Porsche Panamera, Bentley Continental
the S8 and so on.
Meaning that A. This platform is pretty damn well developed
and proven to be reliable
as well as making most parts pretty well mass-produced
for lack of better term, more affordable.
These cars are expensive but they are absolute rocket ships,
with a station wagon body.
And it is currently probably the best station wagon
to exist. Ever.
(burps loudly)
But that about wraps it up for some of my favorite
station wagons of all time.
Most of which being pretty affordable if you're not scared
to be seen in a station wagon
and all of which look pretty sinister
lowered on some aftermarket wheels,
tires, and suspension from fitmentindustries.com.
I'm Sean and if you guys want to see more videos
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Peace.