IN THIS FEATURE Not a true estate car Very nicely drawn Flinging it through tight twists Pretty, desirable

The Sportwagon's front half is just the same as the 159 saloon, but the new 'wagon part is very nicely drawn. The shape of the saloon's rear door windows is curiously unresolved with its indecisive curve and the big blank triangle where the 156 had a neat door handle, but the Sportwagon's window shape is more angular, more definite and less invaded by blackness in the lower rear corner. The Sportwagon looks especially good from the rear, too: wide and squat and muscular, its rear wheels pushed out to the edge of their flared-out arches. Roof rails are optional for the going-skiing look.

You'd expect an estate car to be more stiffly sprung at the rear than its saloon progenitor, the better to cope with heavy loads. All the odder, then, that the 156 Sportwagon was actually softer at the back, a ploy to mask the structure's reduced rigidity (no rear bulkhead) and ensure the ride remained reasonable. Those intending to lug loads in that car had to specify the optional self-levelling rear dampers to avoid driving on the bump-stops.

159 is a step up from the 156

There's no such problem in the 159 Sportwagon. Its bodyshell is a little less rigid than the saloon's, true, but the difference is less significant this time partly because the 159 saloon itself has folding rear seats. And both versions are much stiffer in the shell than the 156 was. So the 159 Sportwagon has, as expected, slightly stiffer rear springs and dampers than the saloon. That has collateral benefits for the handling, yet - impressively - these are achieved without upsetting the ride.