If you were the best wagon of the 90s which one would you be?

So on our family trek down to Florida for spring break, my wife woke me up and said she couldn't drive anymore some where in West Virginia?! Some where along the way the GPS was set to avoid toll roads...Opps. This which took us off the highway away from the long straight roads boring roads to the "We need to move to this state honey!" roads. Unfortunately we were in our free beat up, loaded down 95 Camry wagon, oh how I wished we took the fun car, and no stuff. The whole ride home (in-between dodging 75 car pile ups) I have been trying to decide what other wagon would have fit the bill.

Relevant criteria in order of importance for those that want it. 1. must a 90's era wagon 2. must be cheap to care for and feed (ie parts and fuel the camry got about 25mpg hwy with roof basket loaded up and 20 in the city) 3. Fun 4. Other random practicalities like space for cargo passengers bonus points for wagons that won't need pushed out of the sandy beaches.

I am thinking rt4wd civic wagon, what does everyone else think?

Caprice/Roadmaster wagon come to mind, and the Protege5, though the p5 is too new to be considered 90's....

This:

Best. Wagon. Ever.

I always wanted an E39 528i wagon, but an Imprezza sportwagon might be more in line with what you're looking for.

Honda Accord wagon.

Klayfish wrote: Honda Accord wagon.

But he said "fun". I don't think Honda even knew what that word meant when they created the Accord wagon.

I am not sure where you are shopping from but this came up recently in Ohio.
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/3714053189.html

Strangely, the same seller also has this listed.
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/cto/3714043422.html
My first thought was, "do we know this seller? Is he GRM?"

Yet another rare wagon in Ohio.
http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/3670366316.html

Volvo 745 with a few goodies.

EvanB stole my answer.

The German wagons #1.

Volvos #2.

And honestly... i'd take the Camry wagon and make it fun.

I had a 99 Subaru Legacy GT wagon with KYB GR2s and a bigger rear sway bar. It was an auto so pretty slow but awesome in the snow. It handled well and had good space but gas mileage was so so then it blew a head gasket and later ate a rod bearing. So fun car, but not a good car. I always like the Camry wagon but never drove one. The Roadmaster would be cool but hard to park in the garage.

My instant response is a B-Body GM, but upon realization that you're looking for something that has decent handling I'm going to change that answer to a Subaru Legacy with various suspension bits.

[/thread]

A4 Avant

Saab 9-5 Turbo. Volvo 850/V70. Outback Sport if something smaller was ok. Escort wagon is slow but has suspension bits available.

1) E39

2) 850 turbo

3) SAAB 9-5 wagon (early 00's yes but can be had cheap)

Audi urS6 Avant. It mght fail on point 2, though they're fundamentally tanks.

Here's a random nice-looking one:

My E34 wagon was awesome.

SlickDizzy wrote: My E34 wagon was awesome.

Or...

Got your ultimate touring vehicle right here

mad_machine wrote: Got your ultimate touring vehicle right here

Mine was the same color. Mine wasn't an 8 cylinder.

Awesome wagons!

Edit: answering the question I averaged 28mpg and spent nothing but money on oil changes. There are mileage items that have to be replaced but they are pretty reliable if you know what to watch for.

I had a '96 Volvo 850 wagon as my daily until a few months ago. Loved the car, and it was very reliable for me. They're great. But I think mine was a bit unusual in being so reliable, I know they can be pretty troublesome. Otherwise, it'd be at the top of my list.

If cheap to care for and feed are top priority, the Accord wagon is tough to beat. And IMHO, the '94-'97 platform wasn't boring to drive, especially in 5spd form.

If you can stretch it to 2000, my Taurus 4-valve wagon was a fantastic car. 1 wheel bearing the only repair in 166,000 miles. Surprisingly strong motor, quite decent ride and handling, good room. I changed trans fluid every 30,000...an area some complain about. 30 mpg cruising at 70.

I've always had a soft spot for the Cressida wagon (maybe with a 7mgte + 5 spd swap, which drops right in!):

Also, pushing it a little but in '99 you could get an is300 wagon - pretty cool:

And, best for last, if you lived anywhere else in the world you could get a sweet WRX wagon through the late 90's: