A
station wagon or
estate car is a
body style variant of a
sedan/
saloon with its roof extended rearward
[1] over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door (the
liftgate or
tailgate), instead of a trunk lid. The body style transforms a standard
three-box design into a
two-box design — to include an
A, B & C-pillar, as well as a
D pillar. Station wagons feature flexibility to allow configurations that either favor passenger or cargo volume, e.g., fold-down rear seats.
The
American Heritage Dictionary defines a station wagon as "an automobile with one or more rows of folding or removable seats behind the driver and no luggage compartment but an area behind the seats into which suitcases, parcels, etc., can be loaded through a tailgate." The dictionary also calls the term an "Americanism."