When it comes to wagons, those made stateside have historically tended to be looked down upon, while those made in Europe are held in high regard. That may have something to do with the stereotype commonly held regarding domestic wagons: Many expect them to be large, lazy-handling beasts festooned with fake wood paneling — the kind driven by Clark Griswold in National Lampoon’s Vacation. The 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon should help put that thinking to rest. With its rakish good looks and athletic personality, it’s as far removed from the American wagons of yore as Brad Pitt is from Chevy Chase.

However, we would advise Griswold — or anybody considering the CTS Sport Wagon, for that matter — to skip the optional Performance package, since it includes a suspension so stiff it’d make an old Corvette proud. With that said, the CTS Sport Wagon offers all the goodness of the CTS sedan, including spirited performance, a handsome cabin packed with user-friendly luxury features and an overall size that’s probably just right for most shoppers in this segment. And of course it has a far more generous cargo hold.

Still, a few of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon’s rivals best it in a couple of respects. The BMW 535i xDrive wagon offers a more engaging driving experience, along with a more comfortable backseat. But this Bimmer only comes in all-wheel-drive form and lists for a couple grand more than the top-of-the-line CTS Premium AWD Sport Wagon. If we were considering a lower trim level of the Caddy wagon, we’d also look at the Audi A4 Avant, the BMW 328i wagon, and maybe even a sporty crossover, such as the Audi Q5 or Infiniti FX35.

So yes, we would cross-shop some European wagons, but the fact that the CTS can proudly hold its head up high in this group says something, something that couldn’t be said way back when. If you’d like some brash yet classy American style in your sporty station wagon, then the CTS Sport Wagon will likely bring you as much joy as a trip to Wally World. When it’s open, that is.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 6:03 pm and is filed under Cadillac. Tags: audi a4, audi q5, bmw 328i, bmw 535i, cadillac cts, chevy chase, infiniti fx35, luxury features, performance package, spirited performance, sport wagon, station wagon. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.