One wagon clears 40 inches of headroom. Every European wagon we could measure sits between 37.4 and 38.7, and most of them lose more to a glass roof they come with as standard.
A wagon looks like it should fit a tall driver better than the sedan it is built from: same front seats, a roof that runs flat to the back instead of sloping away. For the front seat, that mostly is not true. The roof over your head is the sedan's roof.
The Subaru Outback is the exception, and it is not close. The current car gives 40.2" of front headroom and 43.0" of legroom. Everything else on this page, the Audis, the Volvos and the Mercedes, sits between 37.4" and 38.7". That gap is bigger than the gap between any two of them.
| Without glass | With glass | |
|---|---|---|
| Subaru Outback, 2018–2019 | 40.8" | 38.3" |
| Subaru Outback, 2026 | 40.2" | not published |
| Volvo V90 Cross Country | 38.7" | 37.8" |
| Volvo V60 Cross Country | 38.4" | 37.4" |
| Audi A6 allroad | not offered | 38.3" |
| Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain, 2021 | 37.5" | not published |
| Audi A4 allroad, 2020 | not offered | 37.4" |
Both allroads come with a panoramic roof on every car, so Audi publishes no figure without it. There is no lighter version to look for.
| Car | Headroom | Legroom | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Subaru Outback
2018–2019 · Wagon (used, 2018-2019)
|
40.8"
38.3" with roof
|
42.9" | Fits |
|
The used pick: 40.8" without the moonroof, the most front headroom of any wagon here. With the moonroof it is 38.3", a 2.5" loss. Find one without the glass. |
|||
|
Subaru Outback
2026–present · Wagon / crossover
|
40.2" | 43.0" | Fits |
|
The only wagon here past 40" in front, and 43.0" of legroom, the most on the page. Subaru prints a single 40.2" headroom figure for the 2026 car and no with-moonroof figure, so check the car you are buying has the roof you sat under. |
|||
|
Volvo V90 Cross Country
2024–2025 · Wagon
|
38.7"
37.8" with roof
|
42.2" | Avoid |
|
The roomiest European wagon here, and only just: 38.7" without the panoramic roof, 37.8" with it. Legroom is generous at 42.2". |
|||
|
Volvo V60 Cross Country
2024–2025 · Wagon
|
38.4"
37.4" with roof
|
42.3" | Avoid |
|
38.4" without the sunroof and 37.4" with it. Legroom is 42.3", better than either Audi. |
|||
|
Audi A6 allroad
2020–2026 · Wagon
|
38.3" | 41.3" | Avoid |
|
38.3" with the panoramic roof that every A6 allroad carries; Audi publishes no figure without it. The back seat is roomier overhead than the front, at 39.5". |
|||
|
Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon
2021–2023 · Wagon
|
37.5" | 41.7" | Avoid |
|
37.5" in front, and that is the lifted All-Terrain. Mercedes prints no 2024-on figure for the new body, so the current car is unmeasured here. |
|||
|
Audi A4 allroad
2020–2025 · Wagon
|
37.4" | 41.3" | Avoid |
|
37.4" with the standard panoramic roof, the lowest here. Audi's 2019 kit printed 39.2" for the same body; the 2020 kit's 37.4" is the one used, the same split the A4 sedan shows. |
|||
Front legroom runs from 41.3" (both Audis) to 43.0" (the 2026 Outback). Every wagon here beats most sedans on legs. If your trouble is knees rather than head, the whole segment works, and the Volvos are better than the Audis at 42.2" and 42.3".
The Outback wins, but the older one comes with the same catch as every other car in these guides. Subaru's 2018 sheet gives 40.8" without the moonroof and 38.3" with it, a 2.5" loss. With the glass, the best used wagon on this page drops to Volvo territory.
For the 2020–2025 car Subaru prints 40.1" and 39.1", and that car is ranked in the SUV guide. For 2026 Subaru prints a single 40.2" and no figure with the moonroof, although it gives the cabin volume both ways. So for any Outback, sit in the one you are buying, with the roof it has.
Audi's 2019 A4 kit gives the A4 allroad 39.2" of front headroom with the sunroof. Its 2020 kit gives 37.4" for the same body and roof. The A4 sedan shows the same 1.6–1.8" jump between those two kits. This page ranks the 2020 figure, because every later Audi document matches it. Treat the 39.2" in older reviews with suspicion.
A wagon guide should have more cars than this. These are left out for now:
If a maker publishes them, they go in. A dealer page or a review is not enough.
Check the glass. On the Volvos it costs about an inch. On the Audis you cannot avoid it. On an older Outback it is the difference between the best wagon here and an average one.
Sit with the seat all the way down. These are low cars. Seat travel and how far the cushion drops matter more than in an SUV, and no spec sheet gives them.
If 38" is too little, look up a segment. The 2020–2025 Outback is in the SUV guide. Most SUVs there beat every European wagon on this page.
Each maker's own specification sheets: Subaru's Outback specifications, Audi of America's A4 kits and A6 technical specifications, Volvo's V60 and V90 Cross Country technical data (published in centimetres and converted here), and Mercedes-Benz USA's 2021 E-Class All-Terrain and E 63 S Wagon pages.
Comparing two of these? Put them head to head with running costs.
Open Compare