As Volvo shockingly calls time on estate cars here in the UK, we celebrate the all-conquering 240 and five of its load-lugging rivals
The humble estate car is on the wane thanks to the burgeoning popularity of the all-conquering SUV and crossover; in fact most manufacturers simply no longer bother with them now. And yet it still came as a huge surprise when Volvo announced earlier this year that it would no longer be selling its V60 or V90 estates here in the UK and focusing on its other models.
We think that this trend away from load-lugging estates is a real shame – ever-ready and capacious, many played host to triumph, defeat, argument and reconciliation as they transported families to beachside holidays, out-of-town retail parks and everything in between. Sadly most were cast aside or simply worked to death as ad-hoc commercial vehicles once they had fulfilled their family duties; not for them the glory of their sports car brethren nor even the retro allure of a base-model hatchback.
But these six iconic wagons can reverse some of the damage and take on your family, while enriching your life in a way that a PCP-hired Qashqai never could. And what better car for swallowing bags and bags of Christmas presents?
FORD SIERRA ESTATE (1982-’93)
Of all the cars here, the SierraOf all the cars here, the Sierra was perhaps the most controversial take on the family car. The Citroën and Audi may be more overtly different but the Sierra replaced the definitive family motor –the Cortina –and it looked like a spaceship. ASierra estate would have raised many a suburban eyebrow in the early 1990s.
Despite hysterical mainstream media coverage about struggling sales –largely down to mammoth discounts on unsold Cortina stock –the Sierra became as commonplace a part of British life as a fish and chip supper for a Friday treat or the Christmas re-runs of that unfortunate OnlyFoolsAndHorses episode in Miami.
It’s also unfortunate that the engines weren’t quite as forward-thinking as the wind-cheating exterior. The Sierra’s smooth lines gave the hatchback a class-leading 0.34 drag co-efficient (the Cortina’s was 0.46), which meant that it saved fuel, but under the bonnet you got a choice of Pinto engines that could trace their origins back to 1970, unless you plumped for a V6.
Still, though the Blue Oval had been stung by the public’s moderately frosty reception, Ford persevered with its new baby and the Sierra became more acceptable among suburbanites following a series of facelifts. First the slatted grille went by 1984, and by 1987 the entire nose was toned down, a year after the Sierra had managed to top the UK sales charts.
‘Our’ car is a 1992 1.8, which meant that it got the ‘lean burn’ CVH that wa
