What are the best estate cars?

If you’re in the market for a practical car with a large boot, an SUV is the obvious choice but an estate car could be a better one. Cheaper to own, just as spacious and often better to drive, the best estate cars have an appeal all of their own. 

What makes a good estate car?

An estate car must, above all, be spacious and versatile. But the best estate cars are more than just great load luggers. They’re also desirable cars in their own right, offering family-friendly comfort along with a smooth drive and, in many cases, stylish looks. 

For this guide we’ve selected our top 8 estate cars. You’ll find everything from compact EV models to fuel-efficient hybrids and luxury executive cars here, proving that there are estate cars to suit various needs and budgets. 

Looking for something compact? Check out our guide to the best small estate cars you can buy. 

The cars featured in this guide:

• Skoda Superb Estate

• Toyota Corolla Touring Sports

• MG5

• BMW 3 Series Touring

• Mercedes-Benz E-Class

• Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

• Seat Leon Estate

• Skoda Octavia Estate

Skoda Superb Estate

Size isn’t everything for estate cars, but if you’re looking for maximum load space then look no further than the Skoda Superb. No estate car has more boot space, with a capacity of 690 litres to the load cover. That’s about 200 litres more than you get in some versions of the Nissan Qashqai. 

If you’ve got a Great Dane, this could be one of the few cars where it can lie down in the boot. Just as importantly, the Superb Estate is even more comfortable for people thanks to its smooth ride and limousine-like legroom. There is one estate car that can match the Superb for boot space, incidentally, and that’s the latest Volkswagen Passat. That’s because the two cars share most mechanical and body parts. Why go for the Skoda? Well, it costs less and we prefer its more user-friendly dashboard design.

Toyota Corolla Touring Sports

It might have a rather silly name but the estate version of the Toyota Corolla, the ‘Touring Sports’, is a very sensible choice. As with every new Corolla it’s a hybrid, so you get great fuel economy and the ability to make short, low-speed trips using electric power alone. 

The Touring Sports model is much more practical than the hatchback, too. As well as its large, well-shaped boot, it has a longer wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels) so there’s useful extra legroom in the cabin. While it’s not the most exciting car to look at or drive, the Corolla should be fuss-free to own. Toyota has a reputation for making some of the most reliable cars on the market, and its new cars come with a staggering 10-year/100,000-mile warranty. 

BMW 3 Series Touring

The BMW 3 Series Touring combines the practicality of an estate with the sportiness and desirability of BMW’s iconic 3 Series model. Few estate cars are as enjoyable to drive, or as stylish to look at. 

Although it’s not as roomy as some of the other cars on this list, the 3 Series Touring makes a great family car. There’s plenty of room in the back seat, and as much boot space as you get in most mid-size SUVs. There’s a neat trick, too: you can open the back window separately to lift smaller items in or out, which can be very handy if you’re parked in a tight space. A high-quality, high-tech interior gives the 3 Series a real feelgood factor inside, and as well as smooth, fuel-efficient petrol engines, you can opt for a plug-in hybrid model. 

Mercedes-Benz E-Class Estate

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a legend among estate cars, famous for its huge boot and classy image. Incredibly, the latest version has slightly less boot than the previous version, yet it’s still one of the most spacious estate cars around! It’s one of the most comfortable, too, thanks to its super-smooth ride, cushy seats and luxurious interior. This is the kind of car that you could drive from one end of the country to the other in and still feel fresh at the end of the journey. 

All kinds of clever features are available, too, from an AI-based infotainment system to a feature that helps to avoid travel sickness by automatically adjusting the seats and air-con on longer journeys. 

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

Vauxhall offers some of the best-value new cars out there, and none more so than the Astra Sports Tourer. This estate version of the popular Astra hatchback gives you lots of space for comparatively little money and it doesn’t hurt that it also looks great. 

Boot space is up there with the roomiest family cars and the Astra Sports Tourer has a longer wheelbase than the hatchback so there’s bags of legroom in the back too. Prices for new models start at just over £27,000, which is less than you pay for some versions of the VW Polo. And if you want to go emissions-free there’s good news because the pure-electric Astra Sports Tourer actually costs less than the equivalent hybrid model.  

Seat Leon Estate

If you want the practicality of an estate but you prefer your cars to be a bit sporty, the Seat Leon Estate could be right up your street. Like most of Seat’s cars, the Leon has a more dynamic look and feel than most similar cars, with sharp-edged design and a driving experience to match. Agile and responsive, it’s way more fun than most family cars.

Rear legroom is well above average, while a boot capacity of 620 litres for petrol and diesel models is up there with the best of them. Admittedly, the plug-in hybrid model’s battery pack means that it has a less-cavernous 470 litres of space, but that’s still about 100 litres more than most mid-size hatchbacks. All versions are well-equipped, with features such as LED headlights, heated door mirrors and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity as standard. 

MG5

If you want an estate car that’s cheap to buy and gives low running costs, consider the MG5. It was the first electric estate car available in the UK, and although it’s no longer available to buy new, you can now pick up used examples for less than £7,000. Spend £1,000 or so more and you can get one that’s covered less than £60,000 miles. That’s amazing value for a modern, well-equipped car that was introduced in 2020.

While it’s smaller than most estate cars, the MG5 has a decent boot and generous passenger space. It makes a great family car, yet the MG’s compact dimensions, good visibility and standard reversing camera mean it’s a doddle to park. Earlier versions have a battery range of just over 200 miles, while newer models can manage 250 miles on a full charge. 

Skoda Octavia Estate

Skoda is famous for making cars that offer more boot space than most rivals, so it’s no surprise that the Octavia Estate takes its place as the second Skoda on this list. Although it doesn’t offer quite as much load space as the Superb, the Octavia comes very close and it’s one of the most practical estate cars you can buy. 

Like the Superb, the Octavia feels very reassuring to drive and is ideally suited to long trips. With all that space and a smooth, quiet ride, family road trips can be a lot less stressful. While the petrol and diesel models give low running costs, the vRS version swaps sensible for sporty. It’s a hot hatch in estate form, with stiffened suspension for a sharper drive and a turbocharged engine that provides rapid acceleration.