After another frustrating visit to Canadian Tire where I couldn't fit my new purchase into my 2013 Civic sedan due to the ridiculously narrow bulkhead, I was left pondering why wagons are so unpopular in Canada and North America in general? Coming from the UK, where we call them estate cars, they are really popular and most compact/mid-size cars (Focus/Fusion, Civic/Accord, even Hyundai/Kia) are available as wagons. In fact when I last lived in the UK I had two wagons a Mercedes and an Impreza WRX Wagon. I loved the fact that you could just fold down the seats and had the extra length to get most items of flatpack furniture, a washer or dryer and even a double mattress in there!
Of course, a compact or mid-size crossover/SUV is the answer but they give you extra height, which is less useful than extra length and what if you have a compact/mid-size budget like me? Compacts are fairly affordable and popular here, so if you want compact running costs with a bit more space and utility, surely a compact wagon would be a good idea (as in Europe, the premium is usually only about $2000 over the equivalent sedan/hatchback). If Ford still sold a Focus Wagon here I would buy one but as it is, I don't like the styling of the sedan and the hatchback's trunk is quite small. I even happen to think that the wagon (even available in ST spec) is better-looking than the hatch or sedan.
I know the Golf is available as a Wagon but it is expensive, as are the other wagons available (Subaru Outback, Volvo V60, Mercedes E-Class, Audi A4 Allroad, BMW 3-Series etc), so the value isn't really there.
Any thoughts?
