My little station wagon parked between two trucks.

The other day I bought a refrigerator at Costco. When a guy rolled it out on a flat to help me lift it into the car, he said, “This isn’t going to fit in there.” Then it did.

It might not have fit in some SUVs. And while it would have fit in the bed of a pickup, I would have had to drive around a pickup all the time. Instead, I’m driving a quiet, comfy, and zippy little car with lots of cargo space.

When SUVs first came along, I craved one. I loved backroads, camping, and what one could do with four-wheel or all-wheel drive. But eventually I realized that the percentage of time I’d spend doing chancy things in places AAA wouldn’t go was sub-minimal, and that I would still need cargo space. So at various times I opted for boxy little cars:

1966 Peugeot 404 Wagon1985 Subaru Legacy2000 Volkswagen Passat2005 Subaru Outback2017 Volkswagen Golf Alltrack XLE

I’ve only loved the Volkswagens.

The Peugeot was a bizarre piece of shit—though it was big as a hearse in the back.

The first Subaru had a stick shift and four-wheel-drive, but one couldn’t get it into that mode if all four tires hadn’t been worn to the identical tread depth. Seriously. It was also a noisy rattletrap.

The second Subaru was a mostly good car, but not comfortable for long drives. But, like the others, it held a lot of stuff.

The Passat was great all around. It needed a lot of work*, but it was good to 211,108 miles, when I was told the transmission was toast. So I sold it on Craigslist for $125 to a guy who replaced the transmission fluid and said it was actually fine.

*It was only 5 years old and worth $15,000 when I bought it for $5,000, but I then put >$10,000 into it.

The VW Alltrack is close to ideal. The cargo space is smaller than the others, but not by too much. (Hell, it ate a refrigerator.) It’s a great fit, so I don’t feel like I drive it so much as wear it.

Of course, it’s discontinued. The Alltrack line ran from 2017 to 2019, and that was it. Meanwhile, the Subaru Outback line got large. It is now yet another SUV.

For station wagons still sold in the U.S., ask an AI. Or two. Or three. I just did, but pasting a linky copy of the results requires a bunch of html post-processing.

I can at least say this: the closest new car to the old VW Alltrack line is the Audi Allroad Quattro. The styling is more pinched in the back than the Alltrack, so it might not ingest a whole refrigerator, but at least it’s a nice small wagon, and luxe as well. I don’t want to look closer at them because I might want one.