Skoda don’t have Wagons, they don’t have estates, they have Super Combi’s, which must be Germanic-Czech for wagon. The Skoda Superb Wagon was first noted some 18 months ago via the Chinese patent office, but for some reason a road tester has only just appeared in the Chinese market. It’s been a good few months for Chinese wagon fans, the new Passat Wagon launched in China, the Audi A4 All Track is nearly launched, the Cruze Wagon is road testing, Hyundai are putting their toes in the water with the i4o, Volvo has a wagon in the market and rumor has it the XF Sport Brake (aka the wagon) is also destined to launch in China, basically its the Year of the Wagon.
The super combi is likely to be imported as with the Passat until Chinese consumers can show there is a business case for the car to be made in China, pricing for the top V6 models is expected to closer to 400,000RMB but the four cylinder TSI models could be as low as 280,000RMB when launched, only time will tell.
Why don’t Chinese consumers like wagons? According to some industry people I asked, it was due to the earlier wagons being used to haul cargo and consumers didnt want to buy a ‘cargo’ vehicle, they wanted a sedan, so Chinese went to three box sedans and have only recently begun to reevaluate the wagon concept.
Wow, that is one ugly wagon.
That said, being a family man I’d give a wagon serious consideration. But it must look and drive well, like the V60 R-design that was shown here a few months ago.
As for why Chinese consumers are not that keen on wagons, I think it’s due to many budget cars in the past being “2 box” (hatchback). Once again, we see the importance of image here in determining buying habits.