USED CAR BUYER'S GUIDE

Wagon, or in Great Britain, estate car: A variation on the sedan, with its roof continued to the rear of the vehicle, replacing the sedan's separate luggage compartment with greater cargo space. In most recent examples, cargo ability can be further increased by folding the rear seatback flat. Some wagons have had a small third-row jump seat to carry two extra people. Like sedans, wagons generally have two passenger access doors on each side, although some early models, like the Chevrolet Nomad, had two. Cargo is usually loaded through the rear by way of a top-hinged liftgate.

Large wagons were once the vehicles of choice in the US for people with the need to carry people and large, bulky items, but that gave them the stigma of being boring family vehicles. In recent years the old wagon role has gone to minivans and SUVs. Wagons are still popular in Europe, where they don't have the "family car" stigma. The Germans have, in fact, made the sport wagon class their own with machinery like the BMW 3-Series wagon and Audi A4 and A6 "Avants". In the US, General Motors is testing the sport wagon waters with the Chevrolet Malibu Maxx SS, but they don't call it a wagon.