A look at luxury wagons

This post is part of a series of entries looking at one particular segment and body style, and seeing what the state of the market is by using The Vehicle For Me.  This entry is looking at the luxury wagon market.

This is the segment for folks who need the practicality of a wagon but still want a fun and luxurious car to drive.  Looking at our options in the filter, there really isn't a whole lot to choose from, especially if you rule out the defunct Saab 9-3 SportCombi and Audi A4 Avant.  What we're left with is the 2013 Cadlilac CTS Sport Wagon, 2013 Audi allroad, 2013 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon, and 2013 BMW 3-Series Sports Wagon.  I've picked a variety of trims ranging from around $39K to $57K.

I've chosen what I think are the priorities someone in this segment would have, including cargo space, power, passenger volume, front/rear legroom, and fuel economy.  Let's see what we have.

Link to Comparison Page

The Cadillac takes a decisive win here, mostly due to its excellent power to weight ratio and interior space.  While the Caddy is the heaviest of the four vehicles here, it also has the most power and torque, enough to give it the victory for power-to-weight ratio.  It also does well with front and legroom, as well as passenger volume and cargo space.

In second place comes the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon, which seems to be going for the same market as the Cadillac, but doesn't seem to be doing as well a job, and even then charges quite a premium.  The Audi, coming in third place, seems like a good option for those that don't need all that crazy power but still want a good amount of cargo space and fuel economy.  The BMW 3-Series seems a little out of place here, being sized a bit more like a hatchback.  It is the smallest and lightest vehicle here, but it just doesn't have enough horsepower to bring it up to the power-to-weight ratios of the Cadillac and Mercedes-Benz.  Indeed, you would need about 265hp in the BMW to close in on the power-to-weight ratios of the aforementioned wagons.

The Cadillac is the obvious winner here (unless you can't stomach the idea of a domestic), and even comes in cheaper trims that still out-do the rest of the vehicles!