Volvo, arguably the main purveyor of the estate car, station wagon, shooting brake or whatever you want to call it, famously sent ripples across the automotive landscape earlier this year when it stated it would discontinue all of its saloon and estate models to focus solely on SUVs.
But what if you don’t want the jacked-up ride height of an SUV? What if you adore the elongated proportions of a good old-fashioned station wagon? Well, Volkswagen has got your back, because it has said it will provide capacious trunk space in the form of the ID.7 Tourer that will arrive next year.
The ID.7 Tourer is wearing fairly heavy camouflage in the images Volkswagen is prepared to reveal right now, but the company says it offers 545-liters (19.2 cu ft) of storage space when five people are buckled up inside, or a massive 1,714 liters (60.5 cu ft) when the rear seats are folded flat.
Performance and electric range are yet to be confirmed, but we know the Tourer will be based on the ID.7 saloon, which itself manages 435 miles of range on a single charge when equipped with the larger 86kWh battery.
VW also says the camouflage foiling used to disguise the styling is based on the multi-layer paint of the ID.7 saloon. But cleverly, there are QR codes at the rear that seamlessly blend in with the covering – presumably so passers-by can get extra info on the upcoming model.
Big boots to fill
News of the impending VW ID.7 Tourer is music to the ears of anyone wanting copious amounts of storage space, without the hulking frame of an SUV. With many EV manufacturers playing it safe with body styles, the elongated ID.7 could be the extra choice that sways some potential buyers.
In addition to this, BMW has confirmed it will be bringing an i5 Touring model to the electric line-up, with hints of a fiery M-Division model potentially becoming the high-performance all-electric estate car many have been dreaming of.
Could this mean Audi will also attempt to play catch-up with an RS6 e-tron? We can only keep toes and fingers crossed. And hey, maybe even Volvo will pull a u-turn on its decision to walk away from arguably one of its most iconic body styles.
