Skoda Octavia Combi – Skoda’s journey in India started with the Octavia and the Czech automaker launched the Combi in 2002. It was available in two variants. The L&K version got a 1.9-litre diesel engine while the vRS version got a 1.8-litre turbo petrol unit producing 157 PS and 210 Nm. The Skoda Octavia Combi was quite a fun estate to have and it was priced between Rs. 14-15 lakhs.
Maruti Baleno Altura – The Baleno was Maruti’s premium offering back than and the automaker decided to launch an estate version of it in 2001. It got a 1.6-litre petrol engine and rivalled the Fiat Palio Weekend and Opel Corsa Sail. Since the Altura had a lot of import content, parts availability wasn’t as easy as it was for the standard Baleno. It was priced somewhere around Rs. 9 lakhs back then and was discontinued in 2007. However, there are some people who are driving this car even today!
Tata Estate – The Estate was Telco’s first attempt at a passenger car and it was launched in 1992. Its design was based on the old Mercedes E-Class station wagon. Underpinned on the Tata X2 platform, the Estate got a Peugeot 1.9-litre diesel engine making 68 PS and 118 Nm. It had a 5-speed manual transmission and even though the car was quite basic, it got features like power windows, power steering and tachometer. The sticker price was approximately Rs. 7.5 lakhs back then and the car had issues like high fuel consumption and electrical niggles. It was discontinued in 2000.
