Which car suits you? Help choosing a crossover, MPV, SUV or station wagon | Car

The Opel Astra kept it nice and clear in the 90s of the last century. The compact German family car was not exactly exciting, but the successor to the old Kadett had a very clear delivery range.

As an Astra adept you could choose from a hatchback (the ‘standard’ short version with a straight back and a choice of three or five doors) or a sedan with four doors and a ‘butt’. Those who wanted more space chose the more spacious station wagon with its extended luggage compartment; a matter of simply extending the roofline a little further.

How different are the options for consumers who now enter a car showroom. On the one hand, there is remarkably less choice: the just introduced sixth generation of the Opel Astra is no longer available as a three-door hatchback, and the sedan no longer exists. Those more traditional variants disappeared because car buyers no longer want them, the explanation of car manufacturers is.

But where the ‘old-fashioned’ three- and four-door models disappeared, a true proliferation of other body shapes arose at the same time. Nowadays, MPVs, SUVs, crossovers and all kinds of other inventions from automakers are flying around you.

What do all these indications mean and what are they of use to you as a car buyer? What are the differences between the various options, what are their pluses and minuses and what are – according to our auto editors – the best candidates per category? With this decision aid you will be better prepared and you can choose exactly the car that best suits your needs.

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Back to the Opel Astra. The second generation of that car came on the market in 1998, again as a three-door, five-door, sedan and station wagon. But a year later, Opel presented another model on the same basis: the Zafira. It was in fact the Astra, but as a handy ‘passenger van’.

That higher and more spacious body variant is par excellence what we mean by an MPV. A Multi Purpose Vehicle – in other words, a car that excels due to its ample space and versatile usability. The Zafira did that too, including with ingenious seat constructions: in an instant you changed the car from a moving van into a family transporter with seven seats.

The MPVs emerged in the 1980s and in the decades that followed they were immensely popular, precisely because they had a clear added value in terms of interior space and flexibility compared to lower, tighter and less versatile station wagons.

You had those MPVs in all shapes and sizes: from the sober Mitsubishi SpaceWagon and the controversial Fiat Multipla (with three seats in the front) to the huge Chrysler Voyager, in which you could walk to the back between the seats. Later, Ford also introduced numerous MPVs, such as the S-Max, B-Max and Galaxy.

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For those looking for a second-hand car with a lot of space, MPVs are still good candidates, because many models can still be found as used cars. You often score a very handy car for relatively little money, which you can use optimally for a larger family or the most diverse activities.

You do have to take into account relatively high maintenance and operating costs, because especially large MPVs are heavy and thirsty. But once you know how handy such a van is, you will never want anything else.

At least, you would think so. The opposite is true when you look at current sales statistics. New MPVs are no longer popular and so the body style is dying out: almost every car manufacturer has removed the space cars from the showrooms. The Opel Zafira still exists, but it is no longer based on a family car, but on the Vivaro van.

The medium-sized and above-average multifunctional Renault (Grand) Scenic is about the last of its kind, but it also sells a lot worse than its predecessors. The next Scenic will therefore be a completely different car.

Renault is also following the trend that has been cutting the chair legs of the MPV for years: the rise of the SUV. Sun Sports Utility Vehicle also has a higher body (including the elevated seating position that makes many motorists happy), but with a much tougher appearance than many a ‘van’.

Certainly the first generations looked like off-road vehicles that had put on their civilian clothes, so to speak. Just think of the first Kia Sportage, which rolled out of the showroom in the mid-1990s with a bull bar on its nose and an extra spare wheel on the tailgate. Not necessary, but cool.

The latest Sportage no longer looks like an off-road vehicle at all; the fifth generation is rather an (excellent) high family car that has put on its mountain boots for the occasion. Often four-wheel drive is no longer available. That’s not what many SUVs are about anymore; they strike a chord with the public especially with their looks.

Car buyers no longer prefer to sit in a moving fishbowl with huge side windows and lots of storage space (read: MPV), but rather opt for a roughly dressed Vinex truck that makes you feel like you can drive to work via mudslides and rough gravel paths. Bigger wheels, sturdier proportions and ‘indestructible’-looking bumpers have become more important than removable seats, overhead storage spaces, folding tables and two thousand liters of luggage space.

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The fact that many SUVs are less convenient and spacious than an MPV of comparable size is no reason for many car buyers to leave such a quasi-off-road vehicle. Yet that is something to take into account when choosing an SUV: even compared to a comparable station wagon, you often lose practicality.

An example: in the latest Mercedes-Benz E-class Estate (that’s the name of the largest station wagon of the brand) you can take a minimum of 640 liters of luggage with you. The in-house SUV alternative, the GLE, can store 490 milk cartons behind the back seat. The coupé version of the GLE makes it completely colorful: thanks to its trendy sloping roofline, you can forget about loading more than four holiday suitcases.

Those coupe versions of SUVs are a nice bridge to the latter category: the crossovers. Under that umbrella are all models that combine elements of different car styles. Think of the Citroën C5 X: it is a bit of an estate car, a bit of an SUV, but also wants to offer the comfortable interior of a traditional French mid-sized car. The electric Hyundai Ioniq 5, Jaguar I-Pace and Ford Mustang Mach-E are also difficult to categorize with their futuristic shapes.

Note: with many crossovers, design predominates and you therefore lose even more in practical terms. For example, sleek design swallows up head and luggage space (just look at the brand new Peugeot 408). Wider window styles look tough, but often lead to less good all-round visibility (hello, Toyota Aygo X).

And deviating door constructions such as with the Mazda CX-30 are downright inconvenient. The trendy design makes crossovers hip and many models definitely score with a striking appearance, but when it comes to flexibility and usability, you often choose the worst compromise with such a ‘combination body’.

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You buy many a Multi Purpose Vehicle with your mind and for the space, deployability and flexibility. In addition, you often have to settle for a less smooth and tough design. This also partly applies to the ‘classic’ station wagon. Although the new Opel Astra Sportstourer looks a lot more modern than its predecessor from 1995, you choose an Estate, Wagon or Combi mainly for ease of use.

That in contrast to smooth-lined but relatively clumsy crossovers, which do show that extra pinch of design. Bottom line, many SUVs offer the most balanced mix of all the ingredients that many car buyers are looking for: they keep your mind satisfied with reasonable deployability and sufficient space and respond to your emotion with above-average tough looks. It is therefore not surprising that Sports Utility Vehicles can no longer be ignored in today’s street scene.

You can find more information about the different body styles and their pluses and minuses on the website of Gaspedal.nl.

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