With a few exceptions, French estate cars are a dying breed. Once upon a time, Britain’s motorways and lay-bys were full of baguette-hauling wagons with hydropneumatic suspension and tailgates big enough to swallow an entire aisle of Mr. Bricolage. Today? You’re more likely to see an electric SUV clogging the outside lane than a Peugeot 405 Estate chugging its way to the Dordogne.
Which is a shame, because France spent decades perfecting the art of the practical-yet-characterful estate. They were comfortable, often stylish in unconventional ways, and usually offered more load space than your average British garden shed. Better still, many of them are still cheap. Very cheap.
So here’s a list of 10 French estate cars you can buy for under £2,000. Some are still fairly common, others are clinging on by their fingernails. All of them deserve a second look before they’re gone forever.
Note: some links are affiliate, which means Petrolblog might earn a baguette fund top-up if you click and buy. It doesn’t cost you a penny extra.
Citroën XM Estate
If you want maximum waft per pound, the Citroën XM Estate remains the thinking person’s choice – if you can find one. Introduced in 1989 and crowned European Car of the Year in 1990, the XM wore the sort of angular styling that only Citroën could get away with. The saloon looked avant-garde enough, but the estate added vast amounts of glass and a boot the size of Calais, making it even more dramatic.
Hydropneumatic self-levelling suspension meant it could glide over the potholes of Britain’s A-roads as though they didn’t exist, while also raising itself up like the Isle of Wight hovercraft when it fancied a stretch. Inside, you got plush velour seats and an interior layout that mixed ‘90s futurism with ‘80s plastics.
Brave pills are required: complex electronics, rust and the usual Citroën quirks mean you’ll want a thick wallet, even thicker patience and a specialist on speed dial. But when it’s working, few estates feel so gloriously indulgent for so little money.
Find an XM estate on eBay and experience floaty French luxury
Peugeot 405 Estate
The Peugeot 405 Estate was never the flashiest car in the classifieds, but for sheer competence it was hard to beat. It also starred in an advert that was guaranteed to, er… take your breath away. Launched in 1987 and styled by Pininfarina, it was handsome without being showy – the sort of car that could park outside both a suburban semi and a Parisian boulevard café without raising eyebrows. No wonder it was crowned European Car of the Year in 1988.
What really set the 405 apart was its blend of ride and handling. Testing a 1.6 GL in January 1988, Autocar said: ‘There's not much wrong with the way the car goes and corners, while its ride sets new class standards. There are few rep-mobiles we would class as entertaining. The Peugeot is one.’ In conclusion, it added: ‘The 405 shines in so many areas that it poses a very serious threat to the established set.’ God, we miss Peugeots that were genuinely great to drive.
Sadly, the tinworm has claimed most survivors, but every so often one emerges from a lock-up, smelling faintly of Gauloises and wet dog, ready for another dash through a burning cornfield. Best of all, they’re still surprisingly cheap.
Peugeot 405 estates pop up on eBay – proper family wagon chic
Renault Clio Sport Tourer
If the third-generation Renault Clio had one trick up its sleeve, it was the fact you could buy it as an estate car – optimistically badged the Sport Tourer. A rare sight in the UK, it’s a far more common sight in the hypermarket car parks of provincial France, usually with a baguette sticking out the boot.
Launched in 2007 and built by Oyak-Renault in Turkey, it’s less French Tat and more Turkish Delight. The Clio Sport Tourer was never the most cavernous supermini estate in its class (hello, Skoda Fabia Estate), but it did the job. Today, it's perfect for ‘families, dogs or bags of cement.’ Not our words, Carol, but the words of On The Wight website.
Good examples start at around £1,500, but cheaper ones are out there if you don’t mind the faint smell of wet Labrador, mysterious stains on the upholstery, or a service history that consists of “my cousin once looked at it.”
Clio Sport Tourers lurk on eBay – small car, big boot energy
Citroën ZX Estate
Often dismissed as the Citroën that wasn’t really a Citroën, the estate version of the ZX deserves a second glance. Practical, understated and surprisingly good to drive, it still carried a bit of eccentric DNA – chiefly in the form of passive rear-wheel steer, which gave it the kind of agility family wagons had no right to possess.
Visually, it was no BX or XM, but the ZX’s honest boxy lines are ageing rather well. Inside, you got comfort over flash: squashy seats built for slouching and a dashboard that looked like it was designed to survive decades of long-haul motoring. Most ZX estates weren’t pampered; they lived hard lives shifting families, dogs and, if On The Wight is to be believed, the odd bag of cement.
Survivors are rare today, which only makes them more appealing. Spot one lurking on eBay and you’ll almost certainly be the only person bidding with actual enthusiasm.
See if you can sniff out a ZX estate on eBay – underrated load-lugger
Peugeot 406 Estate
Launched in 1995 and facelifted in 1999, the Peugeot 406 took everything that was good about the 405 and readied it for the new millennium. With svelte styling and a chassis that made even BMW twitchy, it was almost as good to drive as a 3 Series – only cheaper, more comfortable, and more likely to have a stale croissant wrapper in the glovebox.
Most people remember the 406 saloon for its role in Taxi, but the estate had its own understated charm. The diesels were tough and frugal, the petrols smooth and long-legged, and the whole package was geared toward continental mile-munching. A properly sorted 406 could take a family to the South of France in one hit – provided you didn’t look too closely at the plastics.
For full Pb points, seek out a 3.0-litre V6 estate, or the seven-seat versions with the quirky rear-facing boot seats. Proper French ingenuity, disguised in a sensible suit.
The elegant 406 estate still turns up on eBay – bargain Gallic class
Renault Laguna Sport Tourer
Remember when Renault tried to go upmarket? The Laguna Sport Tourer was one of its boldest swings: sleek, gadget-laden and the first car ever to score a five-star Euro NCAP rating. Some even came with early keyless entry – a neat trick until the fob decided it was on strike.
Few estates of the early 2000s have aged this gracefully. The Laguna II Sport Tourer had a whiff of class about it, with comfortable seats to rival a Saab, heaps of safety kit and just enough eccentric ergonomics to remind you it was still a Renault. Reliability could be patchy (to put it politely), but buy a good one and you had a family car that felt almost premium for the price of a second-hand mountain bike.
Neglect and rust have wiped many off the map, but every so often a tidy example appears – a reminder of what Renault was aiming for before the accountants took over.
Laguna Sport Tourers show up on eBay – all the toys for peanuts
Citroen BX Estate
The BX Estate arrived in 1986, just as Citroën was toning down some of the hatchback’s wilder quirks with a facelift and a more conventional dashboard. Even so, it remained wonderfully oddball: angular styling, plastic panels and that signature hydropneumatic suspension that let it squat, rise and glide in a way no rival could match.
Diesel versions became fleet favourites, thanks to legendary economy – they sipped fuel like a vicar nursing a port and lemon at the village fête. The lightweight body also meant even modest petrol engines had surprising verve, though BX estates were rarely bought for thrills.
Most were worked to death as family hacks or bargain load-luggers, but a surviving example is worth cherishing. In many ways it’s one of the purest expressions of Citroën weirdness, wrapped up in a wagon body big enough for flatpack furniture and a family of four.
Peugeot 407 SW
The 407 SW was Peugeot’s stab at futuristic style in the mid-2000s, and the results were… divisive. The gaping grille looked like it wanted to inhale cyclists whole, but the estate’s glassy profile was distinctive, especially with the optional panoramic roof that flooded the cabin with light.
By then the days of Peugeot chassis wizardry were fading, so it wasn’t the sharpest handler, but it made up for it with refinement and kit. Sat-nav, xenon lights, clever audio systems – all cutting edge at the time, all now charmingly outdated in the most ‘welcome to 2004’ way.
Unfashionable? Definitely. Unloved? Totally. But that rear-end styling has aged surprisingly well, and if you can find a tidy one for a few hundred quid, it’s an estate that might just deserve a second look.
Search eBay for a 407 SW – futuristic looks, family friendly price
Citroën Xsara Estate
The Xsara never had the charisma of its BX or ZX predecessors, but as an estate it was a dependable workhorse – especially in the Enterprise trim aimed squarely at small businesses. Under the skin it shared its platform with the Peugeot 306, so it had a whiff of that car’s poise, even if the bodywork looked a little too sensible for its own good.
Inside, it was peak late-’90s Citroën: grey plastics, a faint sense of fragility, and seats soft enough to swallow you whole after a long day. The boot was bigger than you’d expect, and in diesel guise it would munch through miles while barely disturbing the fuel gauge.
It’s not the sort of car you’ll find celebrated in glossy magazines, which is exactly why it deserves a place here. The forgotten middle child of the Citroën family has its own quiet appeal.
The forgotten Xsara estate is still hiding on eBay – cheap and cheerful
Citroën C5 Tourer
The second-generation C5 Tourer marked the end of an era. By the time it arrived in 2008, Citroën was slowly backing away from hydropneumatics, but higher-spec versions still floated on spheres, giving it that unmistakeable waft. The styling was more conservative, but the estate body added a welcome dose of presence.
Inside, it felt almost premium, with decent materials and plenty of kit. Long-distance comfort was its real party trick, and with a big diesel up front, the C5 Tourer could eat motorways in huge gulps. Reliability was better than the horror stories suggest, though you’ll still need a brave streak to run one today.
It’s also the last proper big Citroën estate, a swansong for everything the brand once stood for, not to mention the Unmistakablely German TV ad.
C5 Tourers crop up on eBay – one of the last big hydropneumatic Citroëns
Didn’t quite make the cut
- Peugeot 207 SW: small and cheerful, proof Peugeot still liked a glassy tailgate in the 2000s.
- Citroën Xantia Estate: BX DNA with added conformity and fewer spaceship vibes.
- Renault Mégane Sport Tourer: sensible shoes in car form, but oddly likeable.
- Peugeot 306 Estate: unglamorous, yes, but tidy survivors are solid buys.
- Citroën C15 Van: technically a van, spiritually a lifestyle accessory.
Affiliate disclosure
Note: This article contains affiliate links to eBay, which means Petrolblog may earn a small commission if you click through and buy. It won’t cost you a penny extra, but it helps keep the baguette fund topped up.
