10 Forgotten Station Wagons (Estate Cars) Of India

India is the land of diversity and varied cultures. Yet when it comes to choosing cars, we Indians have been very particular. Hatchbacks and SUVs have always remained in trend. Due to this, Station Wagons were never able to make a mark on the Indian audience. Let’s take a look at 10 forgotten station wagons of India.

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1. HM Ambassador Estate | The NOT-SO iconic one

   

   Hindustan Motors Ambassador is one of the most epochal cars in Indian history. The Laal Batti Vali Gadi is known to everyone in India. Loved by the government officials, Ambassador was also equally loved by people. But how many of you know that this iconic car was also released as a station wagon? Yes, you heard it right! Ambassador Estate was launched in the 1970s. The estate was based on the Ambassador and the only difference was the box made of metal and glass the company attached at the rear. We can see that in the picture.

   The Ambassador Estate was one car that was rarely spotted on the road.

2. Maruti Baleno Altura | One of The WORST Selling Maruti 

   

   Maruti Suzuki has always been a very prominent automobile brand in India. The company has made an array of cars that the Indian public welcomed with open arms. Alto was the top-selling model in India for straight 15 years and only to be dethroned by the company’s very own Dzire in 2019. The iconic Maruti 800, a household name Maruti Suzuki had an excellent business in India.

   But not all the cars made by the automaker were loved. Baleno Altura, being one of them. This was the station wagon version of Maruti’s Baleno sedan. Baleno Altura came with a 1.6-litre petrol engine which was very fuel-efficient and powerful. It also boasted features like speed-sensitive power steering, Kenwood audio system, alloy wheels and all four electric power windows. It was also more spacious compared to the sedan version. But no features could please the customers enough for the sales figures of this station wagon were not at all good.
   
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3. Fiat Padmini Premier Safari | Estate Counterpart 

   

   Fiat Padmini was one of the most popular cars in that era. But the estate counterpart Padmini Premier Safari was not very popular. Fiat launched this car in 1973. Padmini Premier Safari was India’s first estate car. Additionally, a Mumbai-based coach-building company known as Starline Motors manufactured it. This wagon produced 39hp and had a four-cylinder, petrol engine. However, the company had to discontinue the Premier Safari as the response from the buyers was nowhere close to what they expected.

4. Tata Estate | First Attempt

   

   Tata Motors is known for many cars, Estate NOT being one of them. But Tata Estate came preloaded with features like power windows, power steering, 15-inch alloy wheels, a factory-fitted cassette player, a tachometer and many others.

   Tata Estate was powered by a non-turbocharged 1.9-litre diesel engine which provided the wagon with a peak power of 67 hp. But all these features were not able to lure the customers into buying one. This is because the car was neither reliable nor did it have a complementing engine. Tata had to discontinue the model due to the low sales volume.

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5. Tata Indigo Marina | Another Attempt

   

   Tata Motors once again tried there hands at making a station wagon. This time they stretched one of their well-known cars, Indigo and made another estate. Tata named it the Indigo Marina. Although the Marina did not have awful sales figures compared to the Tata Estate, it was not a hit either. But, the build quality of Marina was poor and the wagon was also underpowered. This is because it only had 1.4-litre petrol as well as diesel engines same as the ones that powered the Indigo hatchback.

6. Škoda Octavia Combi | The Unsung Wonder

   

   The Czech automaker, Škoda has been known to introduce the best of cars. And the Škoda Octavia Combi was no exception. But yet this was also not a hit in India. The wagon came powered with a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine which produced a stunning 149 hp of power. Believe it or not, 149hp was nothing short of amazing at that time. The body also seemed to be properly designed and it not just an extension of the Octavia. This car is by all means one of the best Station Wagons of India.

7. Opel Corsa Swing | Thirsty yet Speedy

   

   The German automaker, Opel also tried to enter the station wagon segment two decades before. The year 2003 was the time that saw many manufacturers trying to mark the segment as a good choice. The Corsa Swing introduced in 2003, had a fuel efficiency of 14kms per litre. Compared to the fuel-efficient cars manufacturers like Maruti were rolling out back then, Opel Corsa Swing was a gas-guzzler. The company tried to lure its customers by giving a 1.6-litre petrol engine which churned out a power of 92hp. Additionally, the car could reach speeds exceeding 170 kmph. But ‘Kitna Deti Hai’ was the question Indians were asking.

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8. Rover Montego Station Wagon | The International Estate

   

   Launched by Sipani Automobile in partnership with Britain’s Rover Motors, the Montego station wagon entered the Indian market in 1993. This was a well-loaded car. It had a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel engine which gave nearly 80hp of power and 165Nm of peak torque. The estate came with power steering, power windows and air-conditioning, the comfort features which were rare at that time. But the price tag of Rs 11 lakhs was the biggest reason why the wagon was a flop show in India. By 1995, they discontinued the car.

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9. Fiat Weekend | No one desired this weekend

   

   Like other manufacturers, Fiat also tried the wagon segment. The Fiat Weekend was based on the Siena sedan, which was based on the Palio hatchback. They launched it back in 2002 as a spacious alternative to its predecessor. Fiat Weekend was sketched down by the famous Italian automobile designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro. The wagon had a 1.6-litre petrol engine that produced 104hp of power.

   But even with all this, the Weekend was a miss in the Indian market. The company soon discontinued the car, low sales being the factor.

10. Fiat Palio Adventure | Weekend but a better one

    

    Fiat launched another station wagon under the name, Palio Adventure based on the same platform Weekend was based on. Adventure can be said to be a dull-sporty version of Weekend. This is because the Adventure had wider tyres and sportier alloy wheels. It also came with a factory-fitted bull-bar (Yes, it was legal at that time). But that was it. Everything else was the same. The same engine powered the Palio Adventure too. And both of them met the same fate. Extremely low demand led the company to discontinue the model.

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These were the station wagons India had forgotten all about. When it comes to some of these wagons, nobody knew of them even when they were launched. Although station wagons were spacious, they never made it in India. The low fuel efficiency and lower power accompanied by a chunky design acted as their bane.

This segment perpetually remained obscure in the country. Even though many well-known automakers tried to introduce the Indian audience to the estate segment they never quite succeeded. A few station wagons such as Škoda Octavia Combi was powerful and also offered a plethora of features. Yet even they failed to turn around the fate of station wagons in the country.

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