The estate cars that are wolves in sheep’s clothing

The practical family estate car isn’t as popular as it once was. Sadly, due to the rise of SUVs, saloons and estates are now often overlooked by families. However, in the past several manufacturers have given parents the opportunity to drive with some hidden performance if they did choose this option.

These cars are known as ‘sleeper estates’. It essentially means that it’s an estate car with very discrete looks so it blends in anonymously amongst the crowd, but has a large and powerful engine strapped to the front.

This year, Skoda unveiled a one-off example of its popular Superb estate – but with a twist. On the outside it looked nothing more than a practical family wagon, but under its bonnet features a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine from the standard car, but has been completely reworked by specialists at RE Performance.

The company fitted a larger turbocharged and beefier intercooler to make the engine produce 470bhp – a 194bhp power upgrade. The car also features an upgraded exhaust system, four-wheel-drive, sports suspension and uprated sports brakes and six-piston calipers.

Just like a hot hatchback, they offer drawback free motoring in the sense that they are fast and comfortable, but also are great at taking the kids to school, carrying flat-pack furniture and going on holiday.

Here’s a list of estate cars that are packing powerful performance – but you might not have realised on first glance.

It may look like a traditional Mercedes E-Class Estate, but the E55 is carrying a very special engine under that anonymous exterior design.

Powering the car is a 5.4-litre supercharged V8 that puts out 475bhp and 701Nm of torque. It has a top speed of 155mph and 0-60mph is dealt with in just 4.1 seconds.

What’s more, the E55 Estate comes with the added benefit of two extra seats – making it a seven-seater.

Sold in very limited numbers, the car utilises the same 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V10 power plant as in the saloon car. This gives the car a total power output of up to 514bhp and a top speed of 155mph.

Its boot space also stands at 535 litres or 1,650 litres when the rear bench is folded down – making this family rocketship even more practical than the saloon car that it’s based upon.

Back in the 1990s, Volvo decided to bring its very successful touring cars onto the road and that is how the Volvo 850R was created.

It looks like an anonymous Volvo brick, but lying beneath that very long bonnet is a 2.3-litre turbocharged inline five engine that produces 246bhp and 350Nm of torque. Not as much as some of the German cars on this list, but back in the day, this was seen as a very quick and capable car that would have anybody fooled out on the road.

Volvo estate cars always have gigantic boot spaces, and the 850R is no exception here. With all the seats up in place, there is a total of 941 litres and with the back seats folded down, that space increases to 1,586 litres.

Just like the bigger E55 Estate, the C63 Estate uses a big engine in a small estate car package.

However, fast forward a few years after the E55 ceased production and Mercedes began to drop supercharging in favour of naturally-aspirated engines, which then led to turbocharging.

The C63 utilises a 6.3-litre naturally-aspirated engine that gives out 451bhp and can do 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds. Its top speed is 155mph and the car is also rear-wheel-drive.

In terms of boot space, the estate version offers up to 485 litres and that expands even further to 1,500 litres when the rear seats are pushed down – making it ideal for those tips runs and trips to Ikea.

The final car on this list is from Audi and its S6 Avant that went on sale back in 2006. What makes this car special is the fact that it is the exact definition of a ‘sleeper’. The exterior styling doesn’t look too dissimilar to a standard A6, and yet under the bonnet lives a 5.2-litre V10 engine out of a Lamborghini.

It comes fitted with Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system as well as the engine putting out 429bhp and 539Nm of torque. The car can go onto a top speed of 155mph and can do 0-60mph in just five seconds.

Its boot space stands at 565 litres or 1,660 litres, making it one of the most practical cars on this list.