This is not the kind of risky manoeuvre that any decent Volvo estate driver would undertake, yet the Swedish carmaker has now reversed course on its decision to stop selling these vehicles here following an outcry from drivers who love a car that represents the lives of middle-class British families.
Last summer, Volvo dropped the bombshell, announcing that it would no longer market its estate cars and saloons in the UK and would instead focus on its sport utility vehicles (SUVs), which are increasingly popular with drivers who like the higher seating position and off-road design.
“Demand for our sedan and estate models has fallen to very low levels in the UK, leading to our decision to withdraw these models from the range,” it said at the time.
In recent days, however, the company confirmed a change of heart, with the V60 and V90 models returning to UK showrooms and taking orders from July. Before they were withdrawn from sale, both models started at around £41,000.
The traditional station wagon – usually a boxy five-seater with room for luggage (or dogs) in the boot – has fallen out of favour in many parts of the world, and by 2023 SUVs accounted for almost half of all global car sales. This shift has been bad news for the environment – the rise of bulky, heavy SUVs accounted for a quarter of global oil demand growth last year and drove up global emissions.
A Volvo spokesman said: “While this [shift to SUVs] With demand for estate cars continuing to be a long-term trend, we have seen a resurgence in our estate car products in recent months and have therefore decided to reinstate the V60 and V90 into our UK portfolio. We will start taking orders from next month.”
Station wagons – known in the US as “station wagons” – met the practical need to transport large amounts of luggage. The name was reminiscent of trips made by rural people to and from the train station. Volvo produced its first station wagon in 1953, the Duett model, which could be used to transport both a family and commercial loads.
In the decades that followed, it became standard for middle-class car owners. In the 1970s, a Volvo 145 station wagon was the car of choice in The Good Life, a sitcom set in London’s commuter belt. At the climax of Richard Curtis’ hit film Notting Hill, it is a station wagon, a Peugeot 406, in which the lovable genteel Hugh Grant, five friends and a wheelchair race through central London to his film star lover.
Tom Leathes, the managing director of car sales website Motorway, said estate cars – which account for 7% of sales – were still in high demand due to their fuel economy compared to the more popular SUVs. He added that used prices for the V60 were up 2% on the previous quarter. “There is still a high demand from our dealer partners to fill their forecourts with these modern classics,” he said.
Both the V60 and V90 are available as plug-in hybrids. These have medium-sized batteries that allow around 80 kilometres of electric driving before the petrol engine kicks in. This makes the cars significantly more economical than conventional petrol cars under test conditions. In practice, however, efficiency and environmental benefits are often limited because customers don’t plug them in.
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It is unclear whether the Volvo station wagon will survive the age of fully electric vehicles, as all previous electric models have been SUVs. Volvo, which is controlled by Chinese conglomerate Geely, said it would not comment on future model plans.
Volvo said: “As we operate in a rapidly changing industry, we continually reassess our product portfolio to ensure we have the right mix for all our customers. As part of this process, it is not unusual for us to withdraw certain models or derivatives from sale and reintroduce them later.”