Audi’s fast five-door family estate now has more brains to go with all that brawn, making it a consummate all-rounder

It’s the most amusing car that Audi makes – including the R8 – for sheer wilful silliness.

A massive boot, comfy ride, and all the sophistication you could reasonably need. A true all-round family great

Skoda’s kept all of what we loved about the old Superb (size, space, value) and added updated interior tech and a genuinely stylish body. Verging on genius

Classy, sensible and easy to live with. Not the most exciting small estate on sale, but possibly the most well-rounded

It's taken Volkswagen a surprising amount of time to get here, but finally we have a Golf Estate that's up with the best.

For the vast majority of us, the 3 Series Touring is all the car we could use or want

This reworked RS4 shows how committed RS GmbH is to creating cars of real character. A bit uptight, mind

A likeable Swiss Army knife. A bit bland but will shrug off anything thrown at it.

Not as much fun as a Focus Estate, but more comfortable, practical and very well thought out. Looks the part, too.

An utterly beguiling car. And it feels so relevant today - its performance hasn’t been hugely outstripped, it’s still good to drive, and the interior is laid out in a way that doesn’t feel its age.

The Velar majors on style but it's still a useful car. It's roomy enough for a family, not so big it's awkward in cities, and capable of unusual off-road feats

A thoroughly capable family car that handles far better than it really needs to

Another crushingly good effort from Audi. The new A6 Avant is a one-stop shop for family life

Another convincing effort from Hyundai and a tempting alternative to the more obvious Mondeo.

The new 5 Series is as good to drive as the BMW image, and yet it's as refined and plush as a Mercedes E-Class.

A wilfully traditional, likeable and keenly priced estate car. Tech and powertrains now improved too

More grown up and all the better for it. Priced very keenly too - it's a smart shout.

Much better to drive than the A-Class it’s based on, plus it’s more useful than the saloon. Buy one of these, not a crossover

A fantastic looking car with a myriad of drivetrain options. Shame the Skoda Octavia exists

This is among the best compact estates on sale (partly because it isn’t really compact at all).

The Kia Cee'd is the car that lobs the paving slab of reality into the windscreen of preconception. It might be a straight clone of a Toyota/Ford/VW hatch, but it’s a damn good one.