The all-new fifth generation Mini goes back to the original’s roots, offering more interior space despite smaller exterior dimensionsBernhard Filser/Supplied
Minivans, station wagons and small city cars are all endangered species thanks to the rise of SUVs, which, over the last 10 years, have come to dominate the Canadian market.
Automobiles have become more homogeneous, a sea of sensible soft-roaders designed to make drivers feel safe and tad outdoorsy. The popularity of SUVs is entirely understandable, it’s just not very exciting because they’re all so similar. An automobile is such a large purchase that even your basic econobox should spark some joy.
If there is any hope for niche cars, it lies in electric vehicles. (See #weirdcartwitter for an endless supply of automotive oddities.) EVs are a chance to do something new, to rethink everything. For reasons of aerodynamics and/or packaging, unpopular cars like minivans, station wagons and small cars could make a comeback in a battery-powered world. Or, at least, I hope they will.
In mid-March at a virtual event, Audi showed the world its vision for an all-electric station wagon, the A6 Avant e-tron. The concept looks elegant, like the design department took the Q8 SUV and squished it, making it streamlined and sleek rather than bulbous and big. What’s more, the company said this isn’t just some designer’s daydream. “We are offering a completely tangible look at future production models on our new PPE technology platform,” Audi board member for technical development Oliver Hoffmann said in a statement. The PPE moniker has nothing to do with protective equipment; it stands for Premium Platform Electric, a joint development between Audi and Porsche that will underpin future EVs from both brands.
At a virtual event in mid-March, Audi showed the world its vision for an all-electric station wagon, the A6 Avant e-tron._/Supplied
The A6 Avant e-tron is just a concept, so take the 700-kilometre (WLTP) driving range with a grain of salt. Audi wouldn’t want to disappoint customers though, so it’s a safe bet a future production model on the PPE architecture could at least get close to that range.
Porsche has leaned into oddball EVs too, with weird mash-ups like the Taycan Sport Turismo, an $152,700 station-wagon-sports-car.
By squishing an SUV and turning it into a wagon, you get less frontal area, which means less drag and therefore more range. So, if you want to maximize range but don’t want to sacrifice an SUV’s cargo-carrying capacity, an electric wagon is the ideal choice. Not only that, but low-riding station wagons pose less of a threat to cyclists and pedestrians than high-riding SUVs.
As with station wagons, there are only a handful of minivans on the market today. They survive as niche products. But, based on the enthusiastic reception to Volkswagen’s ID Buzz – the classic VW bus reborn as an EV – VW might make vans cool again.
The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle is aimed at exactly the same sort of outdoorsy family market as the VW.Supplied
Los Angeles-based upstart Canoo also sees an opening in the market for electric vans. The Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle is aimed at exactly the same sort of outdoorsy family market as the VW. If you think there’s some overlap with the SUV market, there is.
With their cargo-container shape, vans take better advantage than SUVs do of the packaging benefits afforded by electric propulsion. The ultracompact nature of electric motors means designers can push a van’s cabin right up to, or over, the front axle. Combined with underfloor batteries, that means an electric van’s entire footprint can be devoted to passengers or cargo. The bad news is that the VW ID Buzz isn’t coming to Canada until 2024, and it will be larger and more expensive than the version offered in Europe.
The next-generation Mini – which, just like the VW, is an electric revival in an unpopular automotive segment – is expected in 2023. Dinky city cars, namely the Smart Fortwo, Scion iQ and Fiat 500, have all been killed off in North America. Not enough drivers wanted them. Mini’s sales have generally declined in Canada since 2017, when SUVs really began dominating the market.
The all-new fifth generation Mini goes back to the original’s roots, offering more interior space despite smaller exterior dimensions. It’s a packaging miracle made possible by the fact the next-gen Mini is being designed from the ground up as an EV, taking full advantage of the small size of electric motors and flexible nature of batteries.
Similarly, Fiat has also reinvented the 500 as a sleek all-electric city car, but it remains to be seen whether it will return to Canada.
After seeing wave after wave of largely indistinguishable SUVs hit the market – including electric SUVs, which often look the same as their gas-powered counterparts – it’s exciting to see some companies take a risk. They don’t always work out, of course, as BMW learned the hard way with the i3; it’s not enough to build a brilliantly original car, it also has to be competitive against rivals. But, for those drivers tired of SUVs, electric station wagons, minivans and city cars could be compelling alternatives if – and that’s still a big if – auto makers are brave and/or foolish enough to give weird EVs a chance.
Fiat has reinvented the 500 as a sleek all-electric city car, but it remains to be seen whether it will return to Canada.MAX SAROTTO/Supplied
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