I continue to bemoan the fact station wagons got a bad rap. They clearly represent the most flexible and useful configuration you can get in a sedan-sized footprint, and so I'm sorry automakers have to disguise their designs to deliver that utility without calling their cars wagons.
Consider the Honda Insight. Everybody talks about its hybrid powertrain but look at the cargo area covered by the rear hatch. Especially with the rear seatbacks flipped down flat, the space is cavernous. Though the Insight is a compact car, it can accommodate surprisingly voluminous loads. Which is precisely the genius of the station wagon roofline. And the Insight even presses that boundary. Take out just a couple degrees of down angle in the roofline's profile and you'd have a station wagon shape, pure and simple.
And why not, I say? There's already a vertical glass element in the hatch. Too bad we can't just be honest and have the Insight be a really efficient little wagon.
It IS plenty efficient, too, but you'd expect that. Starting with a fresh fill-up and then easing into the slow-and-go freeway traffic of my morning commute, I worked the "average mpg" readout up to 53-plus, using light throttle when acceleration was necessary and maintaining momentum when possible. With the traffic-imposed limit of about 55 mph, I was using less fuel than I would have on a motorcycle.
And with all that space!
Kevin Smith, Editorial Director, @ 7825 miles
carguy622 says:
12:36 PM, 11/ 2/09
The Insight's shape was determined by aerodynamics, so perhaps a true station wagon roofline would mess up the aerodynamics.
alex4515 says:
12:58 PM, 11/ 2/09
That's a much better use for the back seats and two rear doors than trying to cram anyone of even above average stature into the rear seats...
kchoz says:
01:00 PM, 11/ 2/09
What he said... it's called a kammback in technical terms and it seeks to emulate the shape of a teardrop, one of the most aerodynamic shapes. If they made the roof flatter, they wouldn't impact much on the car's city fuel economy, but the highway fuel economy would be reduced and, maybe more importantly, the car's engine would struggle even more to keep the pace on the highway where it can't get much help from the electric motor, making the ride less pleasant and reducing acceleration. There's only so much a 1.3L engine can do.
starbird says:
01:17 PM, 11/ 2/09
It looks like a hatchback, has the interior space of an hatchback, therefore its a hatchback not a wagon (and hatchbacks get worse rap than wagons, and I kept hitting my head in the Insight, which is why it came off my list as I'm only 5' 8'').
bodyblue says:
01:45 PM, 11/ 2/09
I really dont get the Insight......the wife has a Prius...I HATE driving it (mainly because of the steering and driving position) but its been reliable, comfortable and cheap to own......AND you can put real people in the back seat. Why buy a new sedan/hatch that has such a small back seat? We are getting rid of the Prius in the spring and sure as hell are not getting another one.
clarkma5 says:
08:21 PM, 11/ 2/09
My mom has a prius. It's very much a terrible car, in terms of its ability to perform as a car, but it's pretty comfortable, spacious, and has a huge trunk that swallows a foursome's worth of golf bags while still leaving room in the cabin for a foursome's worth of golfers. I can't deny that. The insight seems like it offers the cargo benefits of the Prius, but certainly not the backseat benefits.