Hey all,

A wagon is something I had never really considered until recently seeing a quite nice looking one up for sale, it is an '03 VR... It'd predominantly just be myself in the car, occasionally probably the mrs in the passenger seat but that's about it. Anyway was basically just wondering if there were any advantages or disadvantages of wagons that weren't super obvious? Is there much increase in cabin noise? Is the ride any harsher? Car heavier? etc.

Thanks :)

Hi mate,

AKAIK the wagons are approx 85kg heavier. That's the main disadvantage in my eyes.

The rear suspension is not as sophisticated and if you are pushing the car near the limits I assume it would not quite handle as well as sedan.
In terms of ride, whether you'd notice the difference I don't know.
(Mine has king lows and boges and I'm very happy with it's handling.)

Aerodynamics would not be quite as good.
Obviously doesn't look as sporty as sedan.
Cabin noise, I don't know.


The benefits though as I see them:

Makes your car a bit more unique, and can avoid unwanted attention (from Police etc).

Gives you the sleeper look.

Plenty of room for heaps of uses:
Going to a track day with 4 mates and 4 track rims and tyres in the back, no worries.
Need a new bonnet or complete interior? Drive down the wreckers and throw them in the back.
Got a big stereo system. Easy.
Moving house? I,ve had double door cupboards and fridges in the back.
Drink too much at a party? Huge blue with the missus? travelling and no motel room for the night? etc. Room to sleep in the back. Even Going to the drive-in? Room in the back.
Got a couple of big dogs? Put em in the back.
Got 3 kids and prams and all the other crap needed to travel? In the back.

I've found all the above useful in the years I've owned Wagons, and since I've been 18 my opinion is it has to be a wagon.

One of the main reasons I bought a wagon way back, was I always heard and read stories about guys spending all this money doing up their cars, getting them finished and just how they like them.
Then they get married and have kids and they have to sell their pride and joy because you can't put the kids and stuff in the back of their coupes and sedans.
I figure if I'm going to spend $10,000 or whatever to modify a car, I want it to be able to meet all of my needs for at least 5-10 years.

Cheers.

As above.

Lets put it this way. I've always owned multiple cars. Always, one of them was a wagon. HX Kingswood, Sigma wagon, TP wagon, now TS wagon.

If I could only have one car, it would be a wagon.

Which car do I drive the most? The wagon.

Which car is the oldest and creakiest? The wagon.

Which car will be replaced with a newer one? The wagon. With another wagon of course. lol

Sedan = transport for 4 plus shopping, that's about all.
Wagon = multipurpose, as above. Have transported washing machines, freezers, refrigerators, loads of recyclable cans @ 10c each, lol, full load trips to rubbish dump, etc Haven't slept in mine, but should be no problem.

I regret buying my sedan. If I could trade it for the same car in a wagon, I would. You can carry anything anywhere.

I think Brett covered it quite well...They are just so versitile and of course they look great.

Yeah i have to agree with above, i love my wagon, doesn't handle quite the same as a sedan i will admit, but other than that i wouldn't look past one!

I love my wagon for all the reasons above. So versatile. Interior noise doesn't seem a problem, and handling seems quite good. I haven't done direct comparisons with a sedan but my guess is that it's marginally worse in both areas.

Yup. wagons are fun. The little dis-advantages are greatly outweighed by the advantages.

Wagons are thought of as work horses, so twenty tins of paint in the back or a towbar and trailer on it look ok. Pity they are not made anymore, or that there never was a 380 wagon. *sigh*

Don't forget they have a built in landing pad for a helicopter too! Big roof! (jk)

Can you do this in a Sedan......??

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/Grosvenor/2012-01-05134456.jpg

I have found it handy to have sleeping in the wagon also an option after a big night.

I have found it handy to have sleeping in the wagon also an option after a big night.

Spot on. Try having a snooze in a sedan

Spot on. Try having a snooze in a sedan

I can lie down in my sedan acrossways in the back seat. Or I can sleep in the boot if i go diagonal or put my head or feet through the access hole.

It comes down to what you want, really. You can go camping or whatever, basically living out of the back of your car, which you can't do in a sedan. If I had a wagon I'd consider doing that.

Hi mate,

AKAIK the wagons are approx 85kg heavier. That's the main disadvantage in my eyes.

The rear suspension is not as sophisticated and if you are pushing the car near the limits I assume it would not quite handle as well as sedan.
In terms of ride, whether you'd notice the difference I don't know.
(Mine has king lows and boges and I'm very happy with it's handling.)

Aerodynamics would not be quite as good.
Obviously doesn't look as sporty as sedan.
Cabin noise, I don't know.


The benefits though as I see them:

Makes your car a bit more unique, and can avoid unwanted attention (from Police etc).

Gives you the sleeper look.

Plenty of room for heaps of uses:
Going to a track day with 4 mates and 4 track rims and tyres in the back, no worries.
Need a new bonnet or complete interior? Drive down the wreckers and throw them in the back.
Got a big stereo system. Easy.
Moving house? I,ve had double door cupboards and fridges in the back.
Drink too much at a party? Huge blue with the missus? travelling and no motel room for the night? etc. Room to sleep in the back. Even Going to the drive-in? Room in the back.
Got a couple of big dogs? Put em in the back.
Got 3 kids and prams and all the other crap needed to travel? In the back.

I've found all the above useful in the years I've owned Wagons, and since I've been 18 my opinion is it has to be a wagon.

One of the main reasons I bought a wagon way back, was I always heard and read stories about guys spending all this money doing up their cars, getting them finished and just how they like them.
Then they get married and have kids and they have to sell their pride and joy because you can't put the kids and stuff in the back of their coupes and sedans.
I figure if I'm going to spend $10,000 or whatever to modify a car, I want it to be able to meet all of my needs for at least 5-10 years.
Cheers.
everything above owned wagons for 20 years
wagons rule

Some negatives are they are pretty conservative and old-fashioned (who makes a wagon nowdays?).....can look like a hearse....in a prang they can be problematic when all the junk in the back like dogs, prams and bags of cement hit you in the back of the head...whatever you leave in the back that is valuable is in full view unless covered. But for a family they are great and we've had quite a few when the kids were at home. Now with no kids it's a sedan with a trailer.

Would definitely recommend a wagon to anyone, my first one was a 85 RWD 323, then a 88 Skyline, then a 90 4Runner, then the Magna, now the 07 Lancer...

What does that tell you? once you have one, its hard to go back, even with the Lancer being smaller, fold the seats down and you can still get a mountain bike in or even sleep in it!

Yeah I agree :p wagons hold 16 subs :D

Yeah I agree :p wagons hold 16 subs :D
^ that has been an interesting thing to watch on facebook, he needs a thread here as well, just so i can look at it all twice. :D
To make my post relevant, I LOVE my wagon. holds everything I need, ride is the same, if not a little bit softer than sedans I have been in. Audio gear doesnt make the boot totally impractical, and its the best to never have to say "nah I can't do that/take this because it just wont fit".

Oh and I think they are just so much sexier than a sedan. Could just be me, but I don't care :)

Yeah I agree :p wagons hold 16 subs :D
and a pallet of cans
48 slabs

Oh and I think they are just so much sexier than a sedan. Could just be me, but I don't care :)

Me too dw :D

Haha I've slept in my sedan, its fine whilst drunk... laying across the back seat of course.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm292/bellto/Picture025.jpg

nuff said.

Haha I would LOVE to see your face if a cop questioned you on that.

Would buy one tomorrow if they came in AWD (infact we just bought a series IV Xtrail as well as the rada), my son has one loves it! Got a mattress in the back doesn't have to drive home and doesn't have sleep on a flea infested couch if he can't drive home.

Haha I would LOVE to see your face if a cop questioned you on that.

lol hi officer, want one of my roadies?

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm292/bellto/Picture025.jpg

nuff said.

mate you are my hero.

what's in the keg?

what's in the keg?

vb, there is 2 more kegs in there 2, onee being xxxx gold and 1 being tooheys x dry. and 12 cartons of spirits! also shitloads of beer cartons. total weight of 1.22 tonnes.

Honestly, it's very likely that the next magna i buy will be a wagon. It's really hard to go back once you have a big car, and there's been a stack of occasions i've wanted a wagon or at least ute while i've owned my falcon.
Being able to move around a huge amount of stuff is always excellent, and i'd finally have the reason to actually bite the bullet and spend the tiny little shipping price to get an 18" sub with a 20kg magnet from the US.

How much is the handling really affected, though? all the extra weight is over the back wheels bringing the balance closer to 50/50, so does the suspension just let it down or is it the weight being up so high?

The suspension is let down as the wagon runs a beam axle, the sedan runs multilink irs.

I believe the simpler suspension meant a flatter and lower load area, if you look at a Camry Wagon the strut towers take up so much space it's only about 2/3rds the size of the Magna's usable area.

Advantage:
You can tell people you own a WAGNA

Or MAGON... its up to you

One advantage of the wagon that hasn't been mentioned is better rear vision. Instead of having a pair of wide C-pillars like the sedan, the wagon has slim C-pillars plus D-pillars which, being well back, don't obscure vision too much.

Might use this thread -
Does anyone know the dimensions of the rear area in a wagon, specifically, the width between the wheelarches and maybe even how high above the rear floor the back seats sit?

i dont know how im ever going to go back to a sedan after owning my wagon.. i just hope when the time comes to sell i can find a wagon just as sexy.. Rs4 or rs6 might be the only options.. haha

I know one disadvantage of owning a wagon. If you put bags of smelly rubbish in the back, and drive it down to the dump (to get rid of the rubbish, not to park the car there) the smell spreads and takes days to go away. lol

If you do the same with a sedan it will stunk just as much. The wagon is easier to clean :)

You all have it wrong :D

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/hdach3/429140_3340615797257_1324544473_3386968_504025599_ n.jpg

That is both incredible and worrying. How can you get the power to run that? Personally I would build them into a floating floor, but that's just me

You all have it wrong :D

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/hdach3/429140_3340615797257_1324544473_3386968_504025599_ n.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr6Vo9SyhY8

HAHAH. Imagine the power draw. I can see the car stalling everytime you hit a red light :P

Na i just stocked up on optimas to keep her going :) Only problem is finding places to put the batteries ha ha But yeah with decent cables and batteries shes fine :D

I'm just planning a single 18 so that i can keep a decent amount of room left over and have being able to brag about having an 18" sub.

4000wrms ish through 16x 12s?

lol I have an 18 in my rex boot :P And another one at home lol

Will be alot more then 4000. .

Where did you get your 18s from?

Because i'm currently looking at a few from the US, and the prices of them will probably double by the time i get them down here.

Also, how did your box design go with the wheelarches? Does it go between them or above them or something else?

The suspension is let down as the wagon runs a beam axle, the sedan runs multilink irs.

that may be, but you try carrying all that beer in a sedan.................

I mean, where are your priorities??

You all have it wrong :D

http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/hdach3/429140_3340615797257_1324544473_3386968_504025599_ n.jpg

hearing damage?

hearing damage?

Huh??

That roof lining will be hanging down in no time with that much bass :P

That roof lining will be hanging down in no time with that much bass :P

Its already started separating :D

I bought a KJ Verada EI sedan (Riversand) brand new back in 2000. Drove it for 7 years until it reached 160,000. Fantastic car! Two years back I was looking for a TJ/KJ daily driver and came across a KJ Ei wagon in the same colour (Riversand) and only 122,000 on the clock, so I can give you a fair comparison between the sedan and the wagon of the same car.

Infact there is very little difference in ride and comfort between the two! Yes the sedan will beat the wagon around a corner if you're pushing it but, with day to day driving you won't notice any difference in ride comfort, drivabilty and road noise. Both will take off from the lights better than most comparable models in family sized Aussie cars! The wagon is a bit heavier on gas than sedan 14l/100km compared to 13l/100k for the sedan and that's driving around the carpark called Sydney.

The wagon is a lot more versatile than the sedan, as other have stated but, I'll bet you the first time you try and stuff something big in a sedan boot you'll regret not picking the wagon!

Finally the best feature of the wagon is the 4 x little 'T' hooks in rear that will hold all your shopping bags and stop all those cans of baked beans rolling round in the back! Also the tiedown hooks to secure anything you want in there! And one last tip: If you go for the wagon make sure you get a cargo barrier!

Bill

The subs look like my wagon:)

I'll start a thread all about it in the audio section

Another vote for the Wagon.
I have owned both sedans & wagons of the same model.
In fact right now I own a TS wagon & a TS sedan.
As to which one is better for every day / all round use. Let
Me pit it this way. When the engine in the wagon gave up,
Instead of pushing it into the garage and fixing it when I
Get around to it. I stole the engine out of the sedan. Now
the sedan sits around waiting for Me to " get around to it "

Get a wagon. You will never wish you hadn't.

If there's ever a good reason to get a magna wagon over a sedan it'd have to be for storage. The stupid sedans can't fold their rear seats down which make transporting large things a real pain. Try transporting a bumper in a sedan :|

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7055/6773706194_2f7ba4380c.jpg