Best estate shite ever made?

[Uncle Jimmy]

The estate is a favourite of the giffer tradesman, the scurrilous antique dealer, the impecunious camper and the opportunist car booter. The estate is the shiteist of body styles. So which is the greatest of the estates? W124? Pug 406? Volvo 240...

I shall go for the Volvo, it's a part of the fabric of British society, almost on a par with red telephone boxes.

[twosmoke300]

For pure space it’s gotta be a 900 series ovlov or an omega I reckon . Saab 9-5 pretty close tho .

I rate the vectra b estate tho

[Ghosty]

 

Bricksquad Volvos by Andy Campbell, on Flickr

 

E113 MFK by Andy Campbell, on Flickr

 

IMG_0749 by Dan Clark, on Flickr

[djimbob]

Are we counting "estates" such as my Daughters Lexus rx300, and my Kia Sedona - some definitions have them as such, me, they are not, a 4x4 and a people carrier - but if so, then they are pretty darn useful in many respects.

 

I think my Ford Ultima 2.3 auto was pretty bloody good - full leather, auto, all the toys, cavernous boot

 

If you include people carriers, my Toyota Hiace import super custom, 3 litre turbo diesel auto was possibly the best all round vehicle I've ever owned, and used ones have a premium that reflects that I reckon!

[eddyramrod]

^(Ghosty) WINNA!  Thread can now be closed, the 700-series Oblob is indeed the best Shite estate car in the known or unknown universe.

[AlabamaShrimp]

I'm going to go for the jasmine Allen

[twosmoke300]

Some one has watched too much “ The Bill”

 

Anyway - that droopy green cortina has to win this surely

[Bren]

Granada. Xantia.

[lesapandre]

 The 1940 Marmon-Herrington Ford 4WD hunting wagon gets my vote...I kid ye not...

[twosmoke300]

Granada. Xantia.

Ooo I’d love a granny 2.8 Ghia x estate .

 

I’m a big estate car fan and really hate people carriers

[Uncle Jimmy]

I'm going to go for the jasmine Allen

I had to look that up!

[davocano]

ARRRRRHH JIM LAD!!

 

[Uncle Jimmy]

I like a Pug 406, never owned one but I used to travel in a 2.2 pez estate a lot which was a very pleasant place to be.

[willswitchengage]

These were well styled

 

[barmatt]

hhmm, I've not owned many estates, in fact only 2. For all round usefulness in my circumstances which generally doesn't involve driving too many miles I've usually gone for big 4wd's. Disco's and the like, the best being a Ford Explorer just for it's size, comfort and power but it really couldn't pass a pez station without a thirst. Although...

 

I had an ovlov 850 20v which was great for it's comfort, reliability and load lugging abilitiy but it was a bit dull when it came to driving experience. Great in the winter with heated everything! but still no wahey!

 

and I currently have the wbod BMW e39 530d

 

 

Have to admit to liking this atm, cavernous boot with air suspension on the rear, comfy as a comfy thing and just shy of 200hp averaging 40mpg. That'll do me for now.

[Shep Shepherd]

Volvo 100/200/700/900 estate, especially this one! 

 

 

The very fact that I've owned my example for 15 years this year speaks volumes.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Granada for style, Volvo for sheer durability.

[Six-cylinder]

I offer an Alfa 156 V6 Sports Wagon, a useful size and fun to drive!

[NorfolkNWeigh]

Estate cars are no longer intended as workhorses and for example, every 'big' Volvo since the 145 ( and identical 245 obvs) has been smaller than the one before. When you look at the size of a new V90 on the outside , it's unbelievable it has less space than my ph3 V70 which in turn is smaller than the ph2, ph1/850, 9/700. I suppose the XC90 took over for large loads in 2003.

In recent years I've had Volvo V70, BMW e61, Chrysler 300C estates and all were useless as load luggers, the Audi 100 Avant I had last year , even though it was the proto- lifestyle fastback estate would carry a lot more shite than any of them. People Carriers are the kings of space, once the seats are out, not surprising when some are just vans with windows- the Mk1 Ulysee was the best I've had.

What about 7 seat estates?

Can't remember the last time I saw a 406 or Laguna 7 seater, also now Volvo have knocked them on the head are Mercedes the only rear facing jump seats out there? Apart from the Model S Tesla of course, which isn't an estate.

[Uncle Jimmy]

Still shite in my opinion. Pretty mahoosive in the back, suspension might not like the weight so much though.

[bub2006]

Estates I've owned have been a While plate escort,R plate e200,R plate xantia and 406,54 plate 307. The escort was surprisingly large but same as the 307 the boot curved in toward the roof so larger objects were a struggle. The e200 was bloody cavernous and had a upright door and square load area. The xantia and 406 don't seem massively smaller than the E class but the 406 seems slightly bigger than the xantia.

[Mrs6C]

The Alfa 156 Sportwagon is surprisingly practical and useable, despite being the last car you'd consider being so... and I'm a confirmed Volvo 740 estate supporter...

[Ecosse RM]

Wish I’d appreciated these sooner

[Uncle Jimmy]

The 7/9 series Volvos were able to take standard 6' 3" household doors and lots of em. Bloke I met who did pine stripping showed me his 940 loaded right up to the roof lining with 4 panel doors. It was on the bump stops but drove alright.

[dozeydustman]

 

Parents owned a 505 7-seater estate in beige when I was younger. A431NKJ was the reg. Dissolved a little bit more every time it rained but was a really dependable wagon everyone seemed to like. Really great load lugger as well, 'spesh with the seats down. Original Clutch finally went at 155,000 miles in 1995, so dad sold it to an African who exported it to (I think) Nigeria.

 

not the actual car, but near enough identical

 

[junkyarddog]

 

'77 FE wagon.

[Datsuncog]

Gotta be an XM TD estate, for me. Its sheer load-swallowing space, driving comfort and capacity to astonish £99/month Corsa-piloting gimps at the traffic lights even when fully laden and pulling a trailer, means it's like nothing else.

 

 

Normally I'd concur with the Volvo brigade, but I owned a 240 redblock directly after the XM, and it was nowhere near the car the Cit was. I mean, I liked it a lot, but even aside from the ride quality, the XM was amazingly frugal even in 2.5 guise whereas the Volvo emptied its tank so rapidly I was honestly checking the driveway for leaks...

 

[Mrs6C]

The Mercedes W124 estate deserves a mention. Six-Cylinder acquired this 200TE from someone of this parish in 2014 and three days after that it was my 'chariot of choice' for a camping & kayaking weekend away at the IWA National Trailboat Festival in Devon. There was a cloudburst that weekend and the campsite was awash, so I slept in the car in a canalside carpark instead. It was very comfortable.

 

 

We still have it and it is still very comfortable.

[Uncle Jimmy]

I was looking at buying one of these a while ago, they've gone stratospheric now though. Strange that it took MB so long to get around to building their own wagon.

[dozeydustman]

vauxhall estate 008.JPG

 

'77 FE wagon.

 

I WANT