No question about it, the darling of the '60s nuclear family - the station wagon - has made an almost startling recovery the past few years. Nearly relegated to the automotive ash heap during the '80s, the revived popularity of the venerable wagon has proved not every family with two parents, 2.5 kids and a dog wants a minivan.

And station wagons can now be found from the bottom of the string (Honda Civic) to the top (Mercedes). In between, there are wagons from Saturn, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo, Buick, Ford and the subject of our test drive, BMW.

Specifically, it's the BMW 525i Touring, the station wagon for the family with some extra cash to spend, the desire for the driving fun of a sports sedan, and the need for the cargo/passenger versatility of a wagon. In short, it's for the family that doesn't want to drive a minivan and can afford not to.