Estate cars or station wagons are practical but not usually as pleasing on the eye as a sports car. A car with a comparatively long body containing a large carrying space, reached through a rear door: usually the back seats can be folded forward to increase the carrying space. My father had a few estate cars,to carry around the four of us children, we lived in a time when two of us could travel in the back before the legal requirements for rear seat belts, child carry seats etc… so I have some fond childhood memories of travelling in the back of an estate.

I don’t have many estate cars in my collection compared to saloons (sedans) or sports cars, but I like the few I have. The German language generally describes station wagons as Kombinationskraftwagen or Kombi for short. In French they were called breaks, Citroen and Peugeot had seven or eight seater “family” versions long before MPVs became known in Europe.

The VW 1600 Squareback from Bburago is one of the few models I have where the tailgate opens.

In America, Canada and Australia, Estate Cars are called Station Wagons. These Hot Wheels Chevy Wagons include a ’55 Nomad, ’64 Nova and ’70 Chevelle.

In Russian an estate car was a универсал.

The Lada 2102 also has an opening tailgate, this model was made in the Soviet Union, the other two models of Soviet cars a GAZ Volga 24-02 and a Moskvitch 427 are made by DeAgostini in China. My father had a Moskvitch 427, for a brief time, my sister, Jenni, almost fell out when the rear door came open as we were driving along. My father soon sold the Moskvitch and bought a Ford Escort Estate. I don’t yet have any Ford Estates in my collection.