Top five quickest wagons available in Australia right now

Passenger cars might be getting overrun by SUVs in terms of sales these days, but traditional station wagons are defying the odds and making something of a comeback – especially in the performance market.

There’s a number of hot new wagons heading Down Under, but what of those you can buy right now – all presenting a strong argument against SUVs with high doses of practicality and adrenaline-pumping performance?

We’ve conveniently overlooked inbound wagons like the Audi RS 6 GT Avant, BMW M5 Touring and Cupra Leon Sportstourer VZx, not to mention explosive crossovers like the Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.

It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn all five of Australia’s quickest wagons (based on 0-100km/h acceleration claims) are German, specifically comprising three Audi and two BMW models – but don’t worry, we’ve also added two other brisk options available for less than $80,000.

This one’s something of a no-brainer – the Audi RS 6 Avant Performance was always going to be hard to beat.

Audi has been the king of fast wagons for decades and the RS 6 Avant Performance is the hottest one of them all, even if it will soon be eclipsed by the ultra-exclusive RS 6 Avant GT, packing a 463kW/850Nm twin-turbo V8 and dispatching 0-100km/h in 3.4 seconds.

Keep your foot in it and the flying five-door will eventually hit an electronically governed top speed of 280km/h.

BMW has dabbled in the world of fast wagons before, but not in the mid-size segment.

The 375kW/650Nm twin-turbo six-cylinder BMW M3 Touring is aimed squarely at the iconic Audi RS 4 Avant (see below) and batters the quattro legend with more power, more adjustability and faster acceleration.

Acceleration from 0-100km/h is completed in just 3.6 seconds and the top speed, when optioned with the optional M Driver’s Package, is 280km/h.

The Audi RS 4 Avant Competition Plus is the hottest RS 4 variant to date and perhaps one of the last to go without an ‘e-tron’ badge.

This mid-size wagon combines a 331kW/600Nm 2.9-litre biturbo V6 with Audi’s legendary quattro all-paw system to sprint from 0-100km/h in just 3.9 seconds and eventually top out at 290km/h, making it faster at the top end than the monstrous M3 that set out to beat it at its own game.

The RS 4 Avant Competition offers the same straight-line performance but the Plus pack adds a set of adjustable coilovers, a more aggressive quattro rear sport differential and a fixed-rate steering rack to maximise the dynamic performance.

Also reaching 100km/h from standstill in a mere 3.9sec, the BMW i5 M60 Touring is the most expensive and hottest 5 Series you can buy in Australia at the moment as the new M5 is still a good six months or so away.

Available for order since February ahead of first deliveries soon, the BMW i5 M60 Touring is the only EV on this list and is comfortably the heaviest contender, but overcomes the weight penalty brought with its big battery by brandishing a 442kW/820Nm dual-motor powertrain.

The sub-4.0sec acceleration is impressive, while as is usual for an EV, its top speed can’t compete with an internal combustion equivalent – in this case, 230km/h.

If you don’t quite have the budget for $180,000 worth of RS 4 Competition Plus, the Audi S4 Avant still offers the signature Audi Sport blend of all-paw performance and five-door practicality with a 4.9sec 0-100km/h sprint.

Its turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 stumps up 260kW and 500Nm and, driving through an eight-speed automatic transmission, propels the S4 Avant on to a top speed of 250km/h.

While comfortably the most affordable vehicle on the list, the Audi S4 Avant is still an expensive vehicle at more than $110,000.

So if your budget doesn’t stretch that far, here are the two fastest-accelerating wagons you can buy brand-new for less than $80,000 drive-away.

Skoda is no stranger to the world of quick wagons and the quickest of the lot is the Skoda Superb 206TSI Sportline, so much so it’s become the patrol car of choice for the WA Police force.

This large five-door wagon shares DNA with the now-retired Volkswagen Golf R Wagon and will spring from 0-100km/h in 6.0 seconds in almost any conditions, thanks to its all-wheel drive system, quick-fire six-speed dual-clutch transmission and, not least of all, the ultra-wide torque band of the 206kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine.

Hot on the Skoda’s heels is the Subaru WRX Sportswagon, which launches from 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.1 seconds and follows a similar recipe in terms of being turbocharged, all-wheel drive and automatic.

The catch is the automatic in question is a continuously variable transmission (CVT) as opposed to a torque-converter or dual-clutch type.

Still, it gets the job done and gets the 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine’s 202kW/350Nm down to the ground via Subaru’s signature symmetrical all-wheel drive system.

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