Lets get it straight. Station wagons are cool. They've always been cool. But somewhere along the line, the car companies decided that minivans and SUVs were the way to haul around a bunch of people and stuff. The station wagon got pushed to the wayside. Thankfully, what's old is what's new again, and the station wagon is enjoying a bit of a Renaissance.

Take a look at the photos and you'll quickly realize that the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix are kissing cousins ... somewhat high-MPG cousins, at that. There's a good reason that their drive train and mileage specifications match ... beneath the sheet metal, the Vibe and Matrix share the same basic underpinnings. The Ford Focus is not far behind the Vibe and Matrix and numbers here are almost acceptable, until you consider what we're not getting here in America.

This is a category that was and will be ruled by Volkswagen. The diesel-powered VW Passat and Jetta TDI station wagons achieve fantastic mileage figures. The good news is that the TDI will return in 2008 with the upcoming Jetta SportWagen. 45 miles per gallon from a station wagon? It's not speculation ... it's well within reason.

Model	Engine	Displacement	Transmission	Fuel	City	Highway
Pontiac Vibe	4 cylinder	1.8 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	26 city	33 highway
Toyota Matrix	4 cylinder	1.8 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	26 city	33 highway
Pontiac Vibe	4 cylinder	1.8 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	25 city	31 highway
Toyota Matrix	4 cylinder	1.8 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	25 city	31 highway
Ford Focus Station Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	24 city	33 highway
Ford Focus Station Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	23 city	31 highway
Suzuki SX4	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	22 city	30 highway
Audi A3	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	22 city	29 highway
Suzuki SX4	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	22 city	28 highway
Audi A3	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	21 city	29 highway
Volkswagen Passat Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	21 city	29 highway
Suzuki SX4 AWD	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	21 city	28 highway
Suzuki SX4 AWD	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	21 city	26 highway
Volkswagen Passat Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	20 city	29 highway
Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S4)	Regular	20 city	28 highway
Audi A4 Avant Quattro	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	20 city	28 highway
Volvo V50 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	20 city	28 highway
Subaru Outback Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	20 city	26 highway
Subaru Outback Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S4)	Regular	20 city	26 highway
Subaru Impreza Wagon/Outback SPT AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	20 city	25 highway
Volvo V50 FWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	19 city	28 highway
Saab 9-3 SportCombi	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	19 city	28 highway
Audi A4 Avant Quattro	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	19 city	27 highway
Chevrolet Optra Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	19 city	27 highway
Chevrolet Optra Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	19 city	27 highway
Suzuki Forenza Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	19 city	27 highway
Suzuki Forenza Wagon	4 cylinder	2 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	19 city	27 highway
Volvo V50 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	19 city	27 highway
Volvo V70 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	19 city	27 highway
Volvo V70 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Automatic (5)	Premium	19 city	27 highway
Subaru Impreza Wagon/Outback SPT AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	19 city	26 highway
Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	19 city	26 highway
Kia Rondo	4 cylinder	2.4 liter	Automatic (4)	Regular	19 city	26 highway
Mazda 5	4 cylinder	2.3 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	19 city	25 highway
Mazda 5	4 cylinder	2.3 liter	Automatic (S4)	Regular	19 city	24 highway
Saab 9-5 SportCombi	4 cylinder	2.3 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	18 city	28 highway
Volvo V50 FWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	18 city	27 highway
Volvo V70 FWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	18 city	27 highway
BMW 328i Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	18 city	27 highway
Saab 9-3 SportCombi	4 cylinder	2 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	18 city	27 highway
Volvo V50 AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	18 city	26 highway
Volvo V70 AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	18 city	26 highway
Volvo V70 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	18 city	26 highway
Subaru Impreza Wagon/Outback SPT AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	18 city	25 highway
Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	18 city	25 highway
Audi A3 Quattro	6 cylinder	3.2 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	18 city	25 highway
Kia Rondo	6 cylinder	2.7 liter	Automatic (5)	Regular	18 city	25 highway
Subaru Outback Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (5)	Premium	18 city	24 highway
Subaru Impreza Wagon/Outback SPT AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (4)	Premium	18 city	23 highway
BMW 328i Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	17 city	27 highway
Saab 9-5 SportCombi	4 cylinder	2.3 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	17 city	27 highway
BMW 530xi Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	17 city	26 highway
Volkswagen Passat Wagon	6 cylinder	3.6 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	17 city	26 highway
BMW 328xi Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	17 city	26 highway
BMW 530xi Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
Audi A4 Avant Quattro	6 cylinder	3.1 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
Volvo V50 AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
Audi A6 Avant Quattro	6 cylinder	3.1 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
Mazda 6 Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Manual (5)	Regular	17 city	25 highway
Mazda 6 Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Automatic (6)	Regular	17 city	25 highway
Volvo V70 AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (5)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
BMW 328xi Sport Wagon	6 cylinder	3 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	17 city	25 highway
Volvo V70 FWD	5 cylinder	2.4 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	17 city	24 highway
Subaru Outback Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	17 city	24 highway
Subaru Outback Wagon AWD	6 cylinder	3 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	17 city	23 highway
Subaru Legacy Wagon AWD	4 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (S5)	Premium	17 city	23 highway
Saab 9-3 SportCombi	6 cylinder	2.8 liter	Manual (6)	Regular	16 city	26 highway
Volkswagen Passat Wagon 4Motion	6 cylinder	3.6 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	16 city	24 highway
Volvo V70 R AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	16 city	23 highway
Mercedes-Benz E350 4matic (wagon)	6 cylinder	3.5 liter	Automatic (5)	Premium	16 city	22 highway
Saab 9-3 SportCombi	6 cylinder	2.8 liter	Automatic (6)	Regular	15 city	26 highway
Audi A4 Avant Quattro	6 cylinder	3.1 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	15 city	25 highway
Volvo V70 R AWD	5 cylinder	2.5 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	15 city	23 highway
Audi S4 Avant	8 cylinder	4.2 liter	Automatic (6)	Premium	14 city	21 highway
Audi S4 Avant	8 cylinder	4.2 liter	Manual (6)	Premium	13 city	20 highway
Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG (wagon)	8 cylinder	6.2 liter	Automatic (S7)	Premium	12 city	18 highway