The modern Crossover family tree can be traced (aesthetically, anyway) back to three basic roots: the “light SUV” (Jeep Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner), the “pure crossover” (Lexus RX300 and endless copies) and the “jacked up AWD wagon” (Outback, Volvo Cross Country). In fact, one might even posit a Hegelian dialectic to explain the evolution from:
Light SUV (thesis) -> “jacked up AWD wagon” (antithesis)-> “pure crossover” (synthesis)
Well, leave it to Europe to screw up a perfectly good theoretical construct. It seems that the continent that gave us dialectics is going back to what was always the most interesting branch of the crossover family, the “jacked up AWD wagon.” Volkswagen seems to be responsible for a lot of the re-exploration of Subaru’s now-nearly-abandoned niche, with a CrossPassat coming to European markets next year, a possible “Skoda Superb Scout” being weighed as well, and an Audi A4 Allroad already on sale. But perhaps the most intriguing of this new class of neo-Outbacks comes from Peugeot, which is testing a leggy 508 diesel hybrid wagon that drives its rear wheels solely by electric power.
I think this kind of raised wagon will mark the next wave of vehicles, just high enough to allow aging boomers easy ingress/egress (and visibility, for those who crave it), while at the same time providing decent handling and mileage. Good stuff!
Maybe contradiction is indeed the motor of history.
Don’t forget the Saab 9-3x!
I think the the rear wheels are solely driven by electricity in the AWD versions of the Highlander and RX hybrids.
As much as I like the highlander, I hate the hybrid version. The handling is not on par with the gas version, and many complain the electric drive ruins the rear tires in no time. As great as the hybrid Camry and Prius is, something is amiss in the highlander hybrid.
Exactly how is a “jacked up wagon” the antithesis of a Jeep Cherokee?
I mean what killed the wagon is women didn’t want to caught dead in one, but in Europe they remained popular. I think the real market is man-wagons in the US. I catch myself eyeing Allroads or Dodge Magnums at weak moments.
And what about one of my all time favs from long ago…the Eagle?
What was that?
Wagon?
CUV?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nicks88eagle.jpg
Toyota Venza anyone? I’d rather see jackup wagons then oversized SUV downscaled to CUV that are still too big and high off the ground. With jackup wagons a 2 wheel drive version with some suspenion and tire swaps could finally get back down to real wagon ride height levels. The visibility and ease of entry is main thing keeping this jacked-up thing popular despite its mpg and handling drawbacks. A few small hatchback have managed the upright seating position thing so these wagons just need that feel to become more popular.
When I purchased my Highlander, I was considering the Venza. The Venza was great, except for that Ford like chrome grill. That grill killed a Venza on my driveway.
Makes me wonder. How can a company that produces so many great looking vehicles come up with that grill? Toyota, dump the chrome Venza grill, and I will take another look.
What about my long ago fav…the Eagle?
CUV?
Wagon?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nicks88eagle.jpg
Both outback and XC can trace their roots to AMC-Gremlin. And before that, in the middle 1950s-early 60s, Soviet lack of roads produced some mind-bogglin contraptions, like Moskvich 410 and similar designs, all basically unibody passenger cars with Jeep-like running gear.
http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/gaz/pobeda/autowp.ru_gaz-m72_1.jpg
http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/azlk/mzma_410__moskvich_/autowp.ru_azlk_mzma_410__moskvich__1.jpg
http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/azlk/402/autowp.ru_mzma_moskvich-410_1.jpg
http://www.autowp.ru/pictures/gaz/volga/autowp.ru_gaz_24-95__volga__opyitnyiy_2.jpg
Forgive me, Ed, but “crossover” is a bunch of marketing BS that applies only to really ugly vehicles like the Murano. These that you’re showing are all station wagons, and they all have pretty much the same shape. Yeah, the roof slopes down a bit in the back, but when I was a kid, there were really high station wagons, the ones which, in the case of Chevy, predated the 1955 model year, and then there were the lower ones, like ’55-58 or so, and then they got a bit lower still. But they were all station wagons. And so are these. And so is the Forester. Don’t take the crossover coolaid. Remember Jonestown!
That Peugeot IS a nice looking thing, at least from the side and the back (the front looks Japanese generic), although it could use a bit more greenhouse. Well, they all could use a bit more greenhouse, even the subaru.
Sounds like everything old is new again. VW did the jacked-up AWD wagon thing about 25 years ago, with the Passat (Quantum to us Yanks) Syncro wagon.
The Passat Syncro had AWD but no additional ground clearance.
No, it had additional ground clearance. Not a whole lot, maybe, but it was definitely there.
This is correct. I owned an ’85 QSW for many years, and my family had the (dubious) distinction of owning a small herd of Quantums back in the day. The QSW had additional clearance over the standard Q wagon. Not as much as Subaru jacked up the Outback vis-a-vis the Legacy wagon, but it absolutely had a higher ride height.
I’ve got your jacked 4X4 Peugeot wagon greenhouse solution right here!
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f221/bdebruin78/peugeot/505/65eb1_001.jpg
That is beautiful!
Holy hell that thing is awesome!
Give me a an AMC Eagle Wagon -STAT!
I must admit that VW and Audi make the cleanest, nicest looking station wagons out there right now. If I were in the market for a wagon though, I’d most likely go for a Jeep Patriot, as the Ford Flex is too large for me and thus too thirsty, but that is a nice ride, too, esecially the two I saw this evening – one was candy apple red monochrome and the other one was white with silver roof, but the side grooves in the doors were filled in black – that really set it off. Surely a custom application.
Google Image search – “Ford Flex customized” and you’ll find some sweet rides. Apparently the rapper Nelly has one.
Dan, you’re right – very nice rides. I sure wish I needed one of these, as I would be just as passionate about a Flex as I am about my Impala! I would have some real fun with it, that’s for sure. Back to topic: My neighbor has an Audi wagon he uses for work. As I said above, an extremely clean design.
While the Outback popularized the crossover wagon segment, the RAV4 basically invented the CUV segment.
I hate to mess with your philosophical scaffolding, Ed, but dialectic goes back considerably farther than Hegel, or Kant for that matter (who was responsible for the thesis-> antithesis->synthesis model; Hegel’s model was typically abstract->negative->concrete). See Plato’s Socratic Dialogues for details. The basic elements of dialectic also flavor Hindu and Buddhist philosophy.
I’ll take a Flex, thanks.
I don’t think he said anything about dialectic originating with Hegel or made any reference to “philosophical scaffolding” in a historical sense at all. He mere said that “one might posit a Hegelian dialectic” as a fun way of characterizing the current swing back towards raised wagons. I see no historical errors here because no historical claims were made. Dialect taken in the very general sense in which you’re using it also goes back to the Pre-Socractics, by the way.
I still think the slightly raised wagon is a great idea.
Note: My previous post should read “Dialectic” not “Dialect.”
It’s amazing how many companies see an opportunity in the market segment Subaru chose to abandon.
Makes me sad that Subaru no longer builds anything in the “jacked up AWD wagon” category, although I guess as an automaker they go where the money is– and right now it’s sadly in the crossover segment.
Still, that’s not to say that I wouldn’t do anything for a WRX wagon. You hear that everyone?! Aaanything! *Rocks back and forth.*
If you are implying that the current-generation Outback is no longer a wagon, then I’m right there with you. What an abomination.
Yep, it’s a pig.
“light SUV” (Jeep Cherokee, Toyota 4Runner), the “pure crossover” (Lexus RX300 and endless copies) and the “jacked up AWD wagon” (Outback, Volvo Cross Country).
Ed, wouldn’t the Jeepster and AMC AWD wagon from the 1970’s be the progenitor of two of those three vehicle classes you mention in the article?
What about the series 1 Land rover station wagon pre dates those and had REAL off road ability unlike the SUV rubbish
I kind of like the original unibody Jeep Cherokee for its road manners compared to the true off-roaders. It still offered OK performance on unimproved, unpaved roads. It was lighter than a Suburban/Wagoneer body-on-frame class of 4×4’s and better suited for a 500 mile drive than the smaller CJ, Jeepster or Land Rover Defender.
The jacked up FWD-based AWD wagon really isn’t suited for unimproved, unpaved roads. These slightly raised, AWD wagons are suited for driving on snow covered roads. The reason I say slightly raised is that we only talking about a couple inches of lift when compared to a normal two wheel drive road car.
The truth is the FWD-based AWD wagon is better suited for the daily needs and driving abilities of most people. I’ve seen more than a few single car rollovers by inattentive drivers in 4-Runners, the original body-on-frame Explorers and Blazers.
Agreed, that’s why I love the Outback. It’s NOT FWD-based at all, full-time AWD (with a manual), center and rear locking differentials, and a long-travel suspension with 8.9 inches of clearance. Add some Geolanders and it tackles 95% of roads (paved and unpaved). It’s perfect for the Rockies, but you’d definitely want a narrow BOF 4×4 for those other 5% of “roads”.
The Outback has good clearance and suspension travel but I wouldn’t go very far off pavement without adding underbody protection and a real spare.
I don’t think any US Outback has had a rear locker. All goo based limited slips.
The impressive thing about the Outback is that they managed to do a jacked up AWD wagon that’s genuinely suitable for rural roads yet it’s no heavier than most similarly sized FWD sedans.
The original Volvo V70 XC was introduced as a 1998 model, three years after the Subaru Outback — and seven years after the Golf Country (yes, Europe only).
The AMC Eagle was almost two decades earlier. Crude it may have been compared to its contemporary ur-Quattro, but it was certainly a pioneer in the raised-AWD-wagon genre.
That Skoda wagon looks pretty sweet. They’ll never bring it over here but I wish they would.
You can have my Audi A6 Avant when you can pry the keys from my cold, dead hand.
Truth is though…here in Europe despite the availability of a number of these, I see almost none on the road. Subjectively, I feel that for every Audi A6 Allroad I see there’s about a hundred A6 Avants and maybe some 20-30 Q7s.
I have never even seen an A4 Allroad in the wild that I can remember and frankly forgot about its existence until this post. Then again it makes absolutely zero sense in the Dutch market especially (flat country, usually relatively mild winters, ownership tax dependend on the weight of the car, sales tax dependend on fuel consumption and highest gas prices in Europe) cause people just buy -I mean lease- an FWD 2.0 TDI regular A4 instead). In Switzerland they might sell a couple more quattros and maybe allroads.
Still, it seems like most people either realise they’re just as well off with the ‘regular’ model and save a couple of Euros, or they decide to go all the way and buy a ‘real SUV’.
Yes, people don’t buy the faux-trim raised wagon in Europe. The only ones I have seen are the Volvo XC70s.
They don’t look particularly nice compared to their standard versions, and they are more expensive. They are pointless as wagons are bought for their functional capabilities. They don’t work very well on rough terrain anyway. Raised height usually means a car like the Volvo XC60 or Land Rover to Europeans.
Audi sold the Allroad 10 years ago in A6 trim. It was, and still is, a very nice although unreliable car.
As the late Ken Purdy wrote about 60 years ago, [I paraphrase] “A station wagon is a mule by a truck out of a dreamboat”. That is, the old wagons had the awful handling of contemporary sedans with the utility of a small truck. Today’s CUV’s, with their modern drivetrains and suspensions, are the old station wagons perfected. They deliver utility, versatility, handling, even fuel efficiency undreamed of for my old ’76 Fury wagon.