The Top Gear estate car of the year is... the Audi A6 Avant

Estates are cooler than SUVs... it’s a fact. Every bit as spacious, better looking and slipperier. They work with physics, rather than fighting against it because they are cars enlarged in the horizontal, not vertical, and no estate demonstrates this more clearly than the Audi A6 Avant – the most relentlessly capable wagon launched in the past 12 months.

We live in a choicy era. You want some butter? Salted or not? Spreadable? Low fat? Plant based? Clarified? And so the A6 follows the zeitgeist – whether you’re an EV believer or prefer petrol, diesel or hybrid, there’s a version for you, and because the e-tron is spun off a totally different (PPE) platform from the combustion models there’s very little compromise whichever way you lean.

The Avant has a range of up to 437 miles (or up to 463 in the Sportback), all versions deliver a massive boot and (assuming liberal access to rapid chargers) huge distance devouring ability.

OK, so the digital wing mirrors should come slapped with a health hazard sticker, but the rest is near perfection for a family hauler.

Read TopGear.com's review of the Audi A6