Subaru’s wildly successful SUV-inspired Outback has all but vanquished the conventional wagon from the company’s lineup, but Subaru is now previewing a new, nearly cladding-free station wagon on the horizon with this new Viziv Tourer concept car. Its size and proportions suggest that it’s a replacement for the Levorg, an Impreza-based wagon sold in other global markets that uses the same powertrain as the performance-oriented WRX. Unfortunately, that means that we aren’t likely to see anything of this nature in the United States, but we can dream.

If you want to travel far off the beaten path, you usually start with a big truck. Not so for Neil Markwardt, who’s slowly been making a 1985 Mercedes 300TD into the ultimate off-roading wagon. Here’s how he did it.

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Like other Buicks of late, the Regal TourX is a rebadged Opel, specifically an Insignia Country Tourer, a mid-sizer that’s been encircled by many square centimeters of black plastic and given an ever-so-slightly taller ride height. And like other Opels brought here, it attempts to straddle the crevasse between commodity car and luxury car. GM’s 2017 sale of Opel to the PSA Group included a provision for supplying Regals from its Rüsselsheim, Germany, factory, where U.S.-bound TourXs are fitted with a unique powertrain: GM’s corporate turbo 2.0-liter four paired with an Aisin-sourced eight-speed automatic. Otherwise, the biggest point of difference for the American model is the oversized tri-shield emblem in its grille.

As a lesson in globalization, the TourX couldn’t be more perfect. It does have that red, white, and blue badge and an American-built engine (one that can trace its genesis back more than two decades to a collaboration between Britain’s Lotus, Germany’s Opel, Sweden’s Saab, and, of course, the sometime owner of all the above, GM itself), but the TourX uses a Japanese transmission and is assembled in Germany by a subsidiary of a French company. Is this an automobile we’re describing or the opening ceremony of the Olympics?

Looking at the TourX is nearly such a spectacle. GM’s designers deserve kudos for penning this anti-crossover; even the overabundance of cladding can’t make this Euro-style wagon seem like anything but a car, and a handsome one at that. A single strip of brightwork extends from the A-pillar across the top of the windows and down along the edge of the D-pillar into the taillights, accentuating the long and low look. A deeply drawn character line through the lower doors breaks up the body side and lends a welcome dash of sportiness. Not everything is as it seems, however, as the dual exhaust outlets integrated into the rear bumper are fakes; the actual tailpipes are hidden underneath the car.

The TourX’s spec sheet is almost as attractive as its sheetmetal. Standard are 250 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, struts up front and a five-link rear suspension, and an all-wheel-drive system that can vary left-right torque distribution across the rear axle. And the TourX swallows 74 cubic feet of gear with its rear seats folded flat, which is more than Mercedes’ E-class wagon can fit. All this comes at a starting price of just $29,995.

Our test car, a top-of-the-line TourX in Essence trim, was not nearly so inexpensive, though. Its base price is $35,995, and it is the only way to get leather seats, adaptive cruise control, or advanced safety features such as automatic emergency braking. Even adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability means spending at least $33,595 for the mid-grade, cloth-upholstered Preferred trim, plus an extra $1870 to upgrade the touchscreen from seven inches to eight. A fully loaded TourX will top $42,000.

This still undercuts the starting price of clad-and-lifted would-be wagon competitors, such as Audi's A4 Allroad and Volvo's V60 Cross Country. But those aren’t really the Buick’s bogeys, and GM knows it. That’s why pricing on the TourX lines up neatly with six-cylinder Outback models. Both the Audi and the Volvo shame the Buick’s interior, where GM uses materials more on par with Subaru’s. Buick can hold its own on the pointy end of mainstream, but it’s still not ready to play in the premium part of the spectrum.

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This could well prove to be a missed opportunity for Buick, which only gets to launch the TourX—with all the accompanying budget and attention—once. Because for all the market success of the Outback, it is not that impressive as a mechanical package. While we welcome any new wagon, this one should have been more of a contender, especially given its good looks and roomy practicality. It seemed perfectly positioned to seduce some Outback intenders looking for more fun and polish, as well as some Allroad/Cross Country shoppers looking to spend less. As it stands, the TourX deserves only a finisher’s medal.

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This Jag marks the fourth wagon that Jalopnik has had since the beginning of 2018. And though I didn’t get to drive the Mercedes-Benz E400 wagon that Patrick tested, I have drive enough similar Benzes to pretty much know how it operates.

And I’d wager that the Jaguar Sportbrake S is the best one of the four. Seriously.

Jag’s Way Or The Highway

The Jaguar XF Sportbrake S is the wagon version of the XF sedan. But unlike the sedan, which comes in a myriad of flavors and engine options, there is only one way you can get it: With a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 mated to a ZF eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel drive.

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It’s Fast And Fast Is Great

I would like to remark on the simple brilliance of taking an engine out of the V6 F-Type and sticking it into a wagon. It’s a great engine that needs to be in more cars anyway. Or lawnmowers. Motorcycles. Anything, really.

The resulting Sportbrake has 380 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar claims that a zero to 60 mph sprint happens in about five seconds. Personally, I don’t give a hoot about the numbers because I drove around all weekend without knowing them and I still loved the car regardless. I didn’t know the specifics; I just knew it was fast.

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Value And Verdict

The Jaguar Sportbrake S has an MSRP of $70,450. My test car, laden with features like a $3,000 technology package, a $3,500 driver assistance package and a $2,800 premium interior upgrade package, came out to a total of $84,245, which brings it into spitting distance of a Mercedes E-Class wagon. The one we just tested was $89,860.

Having been in current Mercedes-Benz models, I can solidly say that Mercedes has got luxury interiors locked the hell down. At the moment, no company this side of a Rolls-Royce or Bentley makes a better interior than a Mercedes. Not even Jaguar.

However! I think out of all the wagons currently being offered from Mercedes, BMW, Buick, Volkswagen, Subaru, Audi and Volvo, the Jaguar is perhaps the most fun to drive because of its unyielding and ferocious engine. It is a true sleeper car.

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