wagons period would make sense for most people. Unfortunetly people have visions of shaggin' wagons from the 70's with wood trim on the outside when you even mention wagons. I sure wish there were more of them at a competitive price on the North American market 
Hey, I had one of those wagons for 11 years. A '79 Chev Impala wagon. Two-tone silver/grey, with no wood decals.
It was so comfortable to travel in, it was like time travel. You settled into living-room comfort, and suddenly you were somewhere far away. Although the accommodations for anyone sitting in the cargo area seats was poor, the other 6 people on the bench seats could talk to each other far easier than spread out like in a minvan. We had some great socializing compared to two or three people in a small car.
20mpg on the highway was common, and spread over 6 people, that's as good as 4 people in a compact, plus having a far nicer ride. It had more than enough luggage space. As much space under the cargo area floor as some cars have to being with. A tailgate that opened like a pickup tailgate, or opened sideways, hinged on the correct side. Easy lift height to put things on the roof rack, which was a better rack than any I've seen since. It was completely sealed against road dust.
It was rugged. We took it on about 30 logging road trips per year, fully loaded, winter and summer, during the years I had it. No issues other than plenty of scrapes on the bottom, one replaced transmission oil pan, and extra brake jobs. It was more agile than the early Explorers. The 350 meant it never overheated, even doing steep 4000' climbs fully loaded on hot days. A positraction rear axle meant phenomenal traction as long as it was loaded. I added air shocks to the back to avoid that tail-dragging appearance and help clearance. People couldn't believe the places it could go.
It was easy and cheap to fix. Cheap to buy because the marketing industry was already conditioning the public to ridicule them.
I sold it with 230,000km on it. It still didn't need oil between 6-month changes. The people who bought it, drove it to Alaska, then to Halifax. Until recently, these GM wagons were a favourite vehicle for taxis in Washington DC, where they'd rack up hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of miles.
The only noteworthy negatives were encroaching rust, and the paint which just wouldn't stop exfoliating.
As long as it wasn't used for commuting, and the rust and the paint, it was simply an excellent vehicle in every respect. So everyone else got to feel smug and superior about their choice of cars, while I enjoyed my combination pickup truck and limousine.
These cars had a valid place in the range of motor vehicles, and anyone who scorns them is just doing what they've been told to do. The consequence of disdaining station wagons in general is that the public, who did the scorning, for a couple of decades, was denied a very useful vehicle configuration. The fact that big goofy trucks seemed to make more sense just proves how easy it is to hoodwink people.
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As for the X-Trail, when it was announced Nissan was coming out with something slotted in below the then-current Pathfinder and Xterra, what I expected was something like this latest vehicle. I was surprised at how largish and expensive the X-Trail was, and that there was no low range available for it. I guess there's no chance this new thing will have a low range, but it gives Nissan an important entry in an increasingly attractive form of car.
