The 10 Fastest Wagons Ever Built

The humble station wagon: Ideal to load stuff in, including kids, strollers, Christmas trees, and the family dog. But what started with wagons like the Plymouth Suburban, the Buick Super Estate, and Roadmaster Estate Wagon has transformed over time - and some modern automakers forgot the brief was just limited to space and practicality. These companies fit the good old load-carrying wagons with big power engines, soup them up for speed, and add a bunch of other go-faster bits, turning them into performance cars - with a bit of extra space. There are no American wagons left, and these days we rely on Europe to provide them. The latest one to emerge is the BMW M5 Touring.

These wagons are not only fast, they are super cool. You can still load stuff like kids and strollers into their spacious trunks, and they can go very fast, turning the drive to the local shopping center into an exciting outing. They are, to us, the perfect vehicle. Here are 10 of the fastest stroller-carting performance wagons.

Ford's Model T became the world's first station wagon in 1910, when coach building companies started building a wagon body for the "T". This list does not cover wagons like this. This list consists of 10 of the quickest production-based wagons your money can buy today, defined by 0-60 mph times, and ranked from slowest to quickest to 60 mph.

10 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Wagon GT

0-60 mph: 5.8 seconds

What? 'Only' 268 hp, you say? Surely it can't be counted among these mega-horsepower performance icons! Well, actually it can. That's because the GT is really an iconic 4WD Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 that also happens to be a wagon. It is powered by the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and gets the same sports suspension and state-of-the-art 4WD system, which forms the backbone of the 'Evo' performance recipe.

Never heard of the GT? That's because it was only available for sale in Japan, and just 2,500 wagons were reportedly made (with a 50/50 split between stick and auto). It had a bonnet scoop for the intercooler, bucket seats in the cabin, and really great handling. With 268 hp, a rally-bred 4WD system, no driving aids other than ABS, and just 2,700 lbs to shift around, the Evo wagon is as fast as most of the wagons on this list up to 60 mph. And in the corners, it will stick with the best of them.

9 Dodge Magnum SRT8

0-60 mph: 5.1 seconds

When Dodge engineers were tasked in 2004 to create a cool wagon called the Magnum that would appeal to the average family person, they came up with a cunningly brilliant yet simple plan. Throw a 425 hp Hemi V8 into a wagon body, add some 20-inch wheels, a firmer suspension and much bigger Brembo brakes, and top it off with a (slightly disappointingly) subtle body kit and some unique interior finishes. And voilà! The 2005 Dodge Magnum SRT8!

The Magnum lived up to its name, offering a performance punch far above its price point. In 2006, you could pick up a brand-new Magnum SRT8 for around $38,000. It could do 0-60 mph in 5.1 seconds, and go on to a top speed of 170 mph. Then, in 2007, the bean counters (yep, they are everywhere) struck again: the Magnum was discontinued, because it was "not earning its keep."

Around 3,800 Magnum SRT8s were made.

8 Vauxhall VXR8 Tourer Club Sport

0-60 mph: 4.9 seconds

If terms like refined, understated and super-safe offend you, then this Vauxhall might be just the remedy you are looking for. Slightly brash, unsophisticated, loud and so, so much fun to drive, the 425 hp Club Sport can do 0-60 mph in under five seconds.

Hailing from Australia, the Holden Special Vehicles-made Club Sport is a bit of a behemoth, and it tips the scale at around 4,000 lb. It is powered by Chevrolet's LS3 6.2-liter V8, and coupled to a heavy duty six-speed manual gearbox, it offers bags of old-school driving fun. Running on 20-inch wheels and bespoke sports suspension, the VXR8 will battle to stick with the less powerful Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Wagon through a mountain pass with a hundred corners. But, at the end of the pass, the Club Sport driver will have a much bigger grin than his Evo wingman.

The VXR8 Tourer Club Sport was on sale in the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2017.

7 Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar

0-60 mph: 4.4 seconds

Swedish brand Volvo must surely qualify for a prize as one of the most understated, and underrated, performance car brands in the history of the car. Take the latest Volvo V60 T8 eAWD Polestar, for instance. Here's a practical and beautiful wagon, ready to complete that school run day in and out, drawing some admiring glances from fellow parents who value practicality and safety.

But little would they suspect that Thor and his hammer live under that practical hood. With a combined output of 455 hp, this Volvo can do 0-60 mph in just 4.4 seconds. The T8 PHEV version uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine and two electric motors that, when combined, provide a notable 523 lb-ft of torque. Add all the aforementioned practicality and safety, and this Polestar version makes all the more sense... perfect to take the family snow drifting in.

But here's a caveat. The Thor that lives under this bonnet is not the burly Liam Hemsworth version. More like Cillian Murphy. Powerful, understated and refined.

6 Jaguar XFR-S Shooting Brake

0-60 mph: 4.2 seconds

The Jaguar XFR-S Shooting Brake was on sale for just two years, from 2014 to 2015, and was Jaguar's first foray into the high-performance wagon market. Only about 60 cars were ever made, so they are quite a rarity on any road.

Contrary to other brands that followed a high-tech, electronic nanny route, the Jaguar is more analogue and, ultimately, more fun. It is powered by a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine that delivers a handy 550 hp. Power is sent to the rear wheels where an active electronic differential with a limited slip function and a traction control system sort out the details. An eight-speed automatic gearbox, with Jaguar's Quickshift manual function, provides some additional driver involvement.

WIth a specially tuned sports suspension, a thundering V8, 20-inch wheels and exclusive interior and exterior finishes, the XFR-S Shooting Brake is a 186 mph super car that also has 69 cubic feet of cargo space with all seats folded down.

5 Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon

0-60 mph: 3.9 seconds

Want your wagon big, bold and American? Then the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon, on sale between 2011 and 2014, may be right up your alley. The CTS-V's supercharged 6.2-liter engine has 556 hp on tap, combined with 551 lb-ft. The rear-wheel drive wagon can sprint from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds, and it tops out at 185 mph.

The CTS-V wagon has also become a bit of a collector's item, with about 2,000 units made. Of that number, just over 500 cars were fitted with a six-speed manual gearbox. The Sport Wagon also had Magnetic Ride Control, Brembo brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires as standard fare. Unfortunately, the Sport Wagon did not meet Cadillac's sales expectations, and it was discontinued by 2014.

4 BMW M5 Touring

0-60 mph: 3.5 seconds

BMW has been building high-performance M wagons since 1992, when the first generation E34 M5 Touring with a 3.8-liter straight-six engine delivering 340 hp made its debut. Now, 33 years later, the latest BMW M5 Touring is roaming our streets... packing 727 hp of power.

The latest M5 is powered by a PHEV hybrid powertrain, with the familiar 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine producing 533 hp and an electric motor adding 194 hp to the game. All the grunt is sent to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The result is a rather striking wagon that can complete the 0-60 mph run in a claimed 3.5 seconds.

But there is a "but"... and it revolves around weight. With the additional weight of the AWD, electric motor and batteries, the wagon weighs a very hefty 5,530 lb. No longer quite as nimble and agile in the corners, the latest Touring is better suited to chasing the horizon in a straight line at a ridiculous rate of knots.

3 Audi RS6 Avant GT

0-60 mph: 3.3 seconds

German company Audi has been creating high-performance wagons for decades. It kicked off with the RS4 Avant in 1999, and has continued unabated until the present day. Now, the limited edition RS6 Avant GT, of which only 660 units have been made, is the cherry on the RS Avant cake.

Powered by the RS6's four-liter twin-turbo V8, the GT version gets a few extra horses, peaking at 621 hp. With a detailed look inspired by the Audi 90 Quattro IMSA GTO concept car, the GT goes as fast as it looks... it sprints from 0-60 mph in just 3.3 seconds, and will go on to a top speed of 190 mph. With its bespoke 22-inch wheels, RS ceramic brakes, a lightweight and adjustable coilover suspension, a special diffuser, a rear spoiler, a 1,820 watts Bang & Olufsen sound system and special bucket seats, the GT is as exclusive as an Audi wagon will ever get.

The GT apparently represents the last stand for the internal combustion engine in an Audi Avant before EV takes over. Judging by recent developments in the EV segment, we do hope that Audi adjusts its strategy too.

2 Mercedes-AMG E63 S Wagon

0-60 mph: 3.1 seconds

Mercedes-Benz has been building wagon-like cars since the 1950s, but it was only in the late 1970s that the so-called T model heralded the modern age of Mercedes wagons. AMG came to the wagon party in 2005 with the 469 hp supercharged E55 AMG.

Twenty years later AMG, and the E63 S produces 603 hp, and is mated to Benz's 4Matic all-wheel drive system. As you'd expect, it has all the modern electronic tricks, so you can select Drift mode, and all those 603 horses will be sent to the rear wheels only. It also has a Race mode, for those times when you want to take the family and stroller for a blast around your local racetrack.

The E63 S wagon is arguably the best wagon Mercedes-Benz has ever unleashed on the road. Powerful, luxurious, plush... and up to 64 cubic feet of cargo space. Oh, and Drift Mode.

1 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo

0-60 mph: 2,4 seconds

0-60 mph in 2.4 seconds. Up to 938 hp of power with the overboost function. 774 lb-ft of torque. This is the Porsche Taycan Turbo S Cross Turismo, the fastest standard production wagon your money can buy. It is powered by two electric motors, one for each axle. The rear axle also gets a two-speed gearbox, for improved acceleration and launch. It's also a Porsche. So it handles and stops as well as you can imagine, and is a blast to hurl around in a mountain pass with the baby stroller in the capacious trunk.

It has a battery capacity of 105.0 kWh, and Porsche claims a range of 261 miles between full charges. But there's no roaring engine, no visceral interaction, some say. There certainly is no roaring V8, no. But the Turbo S actually has a unique and strangely mesmerizing sound when you boot the throttle. Combined with excellent handling, and all that performance potential... if this is the future of the high performance wagon, it looks pretty peachy.

Sources: Porsche, BMW, HSV, Dodge, Cadillac, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Jaguar, Mitsusbishi.