'Cult following': Why automakers are still making wagons in the SUV era
Think your giant sport-utility vehicle is cooler than the middling station wagon? Think again.
German automaker BMW recently entered the U.S. "super wagon" category with its high performance M5 Touring, a ludicrously fast family hauler (starting price $121,500) that can smoke a two-seater sports car on a racetrack -- again and again. This is the wagon you wish your parents drove.
The wagon's turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 packs 717 horsepower and BMW claims a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.5 seconds. Bonus: the M5 Touring is a plug-in hybrid and gets about 25 miles of pure electric range, allowing owners to cruise through town (almost) unnoticed.
"We're seeing lots of customer demand for the M5 Touring ... customers don't want to sacrifice utility and performance," Juliana Ochs, a manager of business development for BMW Luxury Class and M, told ABC News. "The Touring is the new kid on the block. There was a strong ask for it here in the U.S. and we listened to our customers."
The M5 Touring, which has been on sale in Europe, is just starting to arrive at U.S. dealerships. Few enthusiasts have ever seen one in person.
"People are definitely calling in about the M5 Touring," Jordan Bray, a sales adviser at BMW of Latham, New York, told ABC News. "There's a cult following when it comes to wagons -- not just BMW, but all manufacturers. We're super excited to see it."
Bray said interested buyers may have trouble getting access to one.
"I don't know how many dealers want to give up allocations for that car," he said.
Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power, said wagons, like the forgotten minivan, have been unfairly maligned by U.S. motorists.
"There are excellent minivans out there and excellent wagons," he told ABC News. "They both have a stigma that is long out of date in my opinion. Wagons are a sleeper agent -- you can probably get away with a lot of stuff that may be frowned upon by your local police."
Jominy noted that the market for premium, six-figure wagons like the M5 Touring and Audi RS6 Avant caters to a very niche customer -- one who may also have a Ferrari parked in the garage.
"A 'super wagon' is fan service to your most loyal owners," he said. "Your most loyal owners know about your global portfolio and the forbidden fruit that exists out there. And one of the secrets in the auto industry is that wagon buyers spend real money. Premium luxury wagon buyers typically get zero incentives."
Plus, there are many other reasons to own a wagon, Jominy argued.
"They will drive better because they're lower to the ground and keep their center of gravity," he noted. "They're better handling vehicles and drivers should get better fuel economy than an SUV."
When Audi introduced enthusiasts to its RS6 Avant in 2019 (starting price $126,600), the wait time to get one was two to three years, according to Mark Dahnke, an Audi spokesperson. The automaker sells about 1,000 units in the U.S. and interest is still strong -- including with families.
Like the M5 Touring, the RS6 Avant's performance credentials match or exceed sports cars that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more: 621 hp, 627 lb.-ft. of torque, 0-60 mph in 3.3 seconds. And unlike low-slung, compact sports cars, the menacing RS6 doubles as a stylish people mover that can go just about anywhere and perform capably on dirt trails and and slippery roads.
"It is a very special car for which its buyers receive applause from every fellow enthusiast," Dahnke told ABC News. "Everyone from Bugatti to R8 owners applaud your decision to buy an RS6 Avant Performance."
Mercedes-Benz recently said the 2026 E53 Hybrid wagon heads to U.S. dealers later this year. The company's last high-performance wagon, the E63 S, immediately won over wealthy enthusiasts' hearts and wallets. Mercedes is expecting a similar reaction to this model, which makes 577 hp from a turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six and an electric motor.
"As a performance plug-in hybrid, it combines the best of both worlds: exhilarating driving dynamics and performance with the efficiency of all-electric driving for daily commutes," a Mercedes spokesperson told ABC News. "The wagon also benefits from the numerous advancements introduced with this new generation E-Class, including all-new electronic architecture, third-generation MBUX infotainment, greater connectivity and expanded comfort features."
The U.S. wagon market has been shrinking, however. Volvo recently ended production of its well-liked V60 Polestar Engineered plug-in wagon. The new Subaru Outback, which was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show in April, looks more like, well, an SUV.
But Tony Quiroga, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver, said the options available for this niche segment are "pretty cool."
"I think the RS6 Avant sort of proved that there is a market and BMW wants to tap into that," he told ABC News. "The M5 Touring is a halo car ... it's for the enthusiasts who maybe are disappointed that BMW built so many SUVs. A wagon works just as well as an SUV in so many cases. And it's more fun to drive."
Patrick Lalewicz, a product manager at BMW, acknowledged that BMW owners can get a thrill from other M vehicles on the market, like the M5 Sedan and X5M SUV. The M5 Touring, however, grabs all the attention.
"New and young customers coming into the brand with the M5 Touring," he told ABC News. "They car is so rare and sought after. Customers want something special."
