Ah true, but as someone that might buy a (used) car in the next few years: trendiness & freshness do play into this as estate cars do lose points in my book for

Ah true, but as someone that might buy a (used) car in the next few years: trendiness & freshness do play into this as estate cars do lose points in my book for their "old-school" look as it was the type of car people had when I was a kid (and I am nearly 40). So that together with the higher ride height, which makes getting kids in and out easier and almost no extra cost makes the SUV more likely to win than a similarly specced estate. (and please keep in mind a "SUV" in Europe is not really the same as "SUV" in the states).