I will often see an Italian supercar on my daily commutes.
An orange Lamborghini Huracan or a bright red Ferrari 488 GTB are always a nice sight to behold.
But, what gets me jumping out of my seat is the even-rarer “sports estate”.
The Audi RS4 Avant, Audi RS6 Avant, and the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo – these cars are beautiful, they have performance nearing that of supercars, and they rival most mid-size SUVs in cargo space.
It is therefore sad to see that the sports estate is a dying breed, with fewer brands releasing newer models locally.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz, for example, do not offer performance models in South Africa.
Fortunately, there are still a few gems on our roads.
Audi RS4 Avant
The newest addition on this list is the Audi RS4 Avant, producing 331kW and 600Nm from its 2.9-litre V6 engine – accelerating from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds.
It comes with luxury features as standard, such as the Audi virtual cockpit, RS interior trim, RS styling elements, and RS performance upgrades.
The loading area can be accessed by a foot motion under the rear bumper – and this opens up a 505-litre loading bay that can be extended to 1,510 litres when the rear seats are flat.
All of this can be had for a starting price of R1,211,500.
Audi RS6 Avant
If you had R1 million to spend on a car – as responsibly or recklessly as you want – what would you choose?
My answer: The Audi RS6 Avant.
It is the sole second-hand-only car on this list – with the new 2020 RS6 Avant not available in South Africa.
The RS6 packs a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine under its hood, capable of producing 412kW and 700Nm – pushing it from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.
The interior is feature-packed and still looks modern in 2020, with a loading space of 565 litres – up to 1,680 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.
The exterior is, arguably, the best part about this car – the angry front, the low stance, the wide rear, and the diamond cut alloys.
This car is badass.
Porsche Panamera
According to Porsche, this is technically a “sports saloon”, but with its wagon styling and the fact that it’s the main rival to the RS6, we can refer to it as a sports estate.
The range spans from the relatively tame Panamera – 243kW/450Nm – to the mind-boggling Panamera Turbo S E-Hybrid Sport Turismo – 515kW/870Nm.
The main competitor to the Audi RS6 Avant is then the Panamera GTS Sport Turismo.
This model is fitted with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that produces 353kW and 630Nm, able to accelerate it from 0-100km/h in 3.9 seconds.
With 515 litres of loading space – up to 1,384 litres when the seats are folded flat – the Porsche has the least amount of cargo space on this list.
A starting price of R2,439,000 makes the Panamera the most expensive in this lineup.
What we’re missing out on
With few local offerings, we are missing out on a lot of waggony goodness available overseas.
These cars are not cheap, understandably so when looking at the specs, but what they offer compared to their closest non-wagon counterparts is unequalled.
Below are three awesome wagons I wish were available in South Africa.
Mercedes-Benz AMG E63 S Wagon
- Engine: 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power/Torque: 450kW/850Nm
- Acceleration (0-100km/h): 3.4s
Volvo V60 T8 Polestar
- Engine: 2.0-litre super- and turbocharged Inline 4 + 2 electric motors
- Power/Torque: 309kW/670Nm
- Acceleration (0-100km/h): 4.4s
Jaguar XF Sportbrake R‑DYNAMIC HSE P300
- Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cylinder
- Power/Torque: 221kW/400Nm
- Acceleration (0-100km/h): 6.2s
Keyword: RS6 and the Panamera – Why South Africans should love wagons