The sad loss of the Volvo estate | Axon's Automotive Anorak

With its combined saloon and estate sales now accounting for just around 10 per cent of its total volume, Volvo GB has recently chosen to concentrate its UK sales efforts on only selling SUVs and electric vehicles. Of course, that begs the question as to where this leaves its sibling all-electric Polestar brand. If Volvo is set to only sell electric SUVs by 2030, surely this will give its own, slightly dearer Polestar 3 SUV partner model unwanted competition. On the plus side, however, at least Poletstar is remaining loyal to premium EV saloon buyers by keeping its booted Polestar 2 on UK price lists, with the Porsche Taycan-rivaling Polestar 5 soon to join.

The withdrawal of Volvo from the premium estate car segment it has dominated for decades will be very welcome news for its rival German brands though, making that large and practical ICE or hybrid-powered Audi of Mercedes-Benz estate now look far more tempting, although would-be Volvo estate buyers visiting their local BMW showroom may be disappointed in the smaller usable space available in their more dynamic wagons.

Although Volvo built its first motor car in 1927, it took the Swedish manufacturer a quarter of a century before it introduced its first saloon-based estate car model, the Duett, derived from the American-inspired PV444/544 models. In production from 1953 to 1969, the functional three-door Duett was very popular in its native Scandinavia, but rare in the UK as the model was never officially imported.

In fact, Volvo waited until 1958 for its successful venture into the competitive British passenger car market, with its familiar Chrysler 300-inspired 122S Amazon saloon. The five-door 221/222 Amazon estate derivative finally became available to UK buyers in 1962, pitting this expensive import (when overseas new car imports were still quite scarce) up against domestic prestige station wagons from Humber, Singer, Standard, Ford and Vauxhall. In 1967 the single-carb 211 was upgraded to the more potent twin-carb 222 Amazon, this version (controversially at the time) being adopted by the Hampshire police force, unheard of in a period when buying ‘foreign’ was still generally frowned upon. Hampshire’s early adoption of using Volvos as police vehicles subsequently led the way to a number of other UK police forces also choosing to use Volvos, these being a common sight today in their’ jam jar’ uniforms.

In 1968 the Amazon was supplemented (and ultimately replaced) by the new 140 series, the 144 saloon (14’4’ signifying four-doors) soon joined by the versatile 145 (five-door estate). This is the model that earned Volvo its stolid ‘boxy but good’ middle-class and trusted reputation, as driven by the respectable Gerry Ledbetter in the classic 1970s BBC comedy show The Good Life. 

The bluff-fronted 145 morphed into the improved 240 series in for 1975, this model being the most familiar and iconic of all Volvo estates (and saloons). Dreary to drive and look at, the low-tech but robust 245 soldiered on until 1993, by which time it was as much of an antique as the solid pine Welsh dresser it was inevitably carrying.

In 1982 the aged 240 was joined by the even squarer Volvo 700 family (four-cylinder 740 and six-cylinder 760), with an ungainly Detroit-style boxy saloon, and the strong-selling estate addition, these eventually superseding the vulnerable but much-loved 240 series. Despite their unfortunate and unappealing boxy styling, the traditional rear-drive Volvo 700s were safe and solid, enjoying a loyal following with their faithful, dog-loving admirers. The 700s were given a much-needed revamp in 1990 to become the 900 series. The saloon versions received a welcome rear-end restyle, but the 900 estates retained their square-back garden shed appearance. In 1996 the 900s became the S (Sedan/saloon) and V (Versatile) 90, to link in with the rest of Volvo’s revised model range S or V nomenclature.

By this time Volvo had shocked the world and dragged itself out of the dark ages with a fresh, modern and actually surprisingly capable front-wheel-drive model; the game-changing 850, with an estate version introduced in 1993. Always more popular in five-door estate form than the three-box saloon, the 850 spawned Volvo’s first dynamically-engaging sporting derivate, the now cult-like 850R, often painted in an egg custard-coloured solid pale yellow with gun metal grey-shaded alloys. At long last, this was a Volvo that driving enthusiasts could enjoy. By 1997, like the V90, the slightly smaller 850 was soon rebadged as S and V70 to stay true to the logic Volvo’s revised range structure.

Post-V70, Volvo stayed true to its estate car roots, introducing estate versions of its entry 40 (V40) range, plus a new, second-generation V70 (including XC variants), plus the uncommonly stylish range-topping V90 wagon, which Volvo GB sadly quietly withdrew from UK sale earlier the year. This leaves us now with a range of Volvo SUV models (soon just electric), with doubtless a tear or two being shed by the army of loyal British knitted jumper-wearing Volvo estate fans.