One thing's for sure: the driver of the new Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon will hear more compliments from rear passengers than has ever been the case in any previous Cadillac wagon. Of course, every previous Cadillac wagon was a hearse and the rear passenger was horizontal, but let’s not quibble.

There’s lots to compliment in this first-ever regular-production Cadillac wagon.

For starters, it’s built on the CTS platform, which means it’s a serious driving machine, right at home with the likes of the BMW 3 Series wagon. Retaining the CTS sedan’s width, length and wheelbase, this big-bustle CTS is as nimble as a Russian gymnast.

And, despite a roughly 200-pound weight gain over the sedan, the wagon is quick – at least when equipped, as ours was, with the optional 3.6-liter, 304-hp direct injection V-6. (A 3.0-liter, 270-hp direct injection six is standard.)

Mated to a standard six-speed automatic, our all-wheel drive wagon – rear-drive is standard – sprinted from zero-to-60 in about 7 seconds. That’s about a second slower than a comparable sedan, but none too shabby for a four-corner-grip cargo hauler that gets an EPA mileage rating of 18 city/26 hwy.

Its ride can be had in three flavors: the base FE1 suspension, the optional FE2, which is standard with the engine upgrade, or the firmness of the FE3 sport suspension.

Our wagon’s FE2 provided a fine compromise between comfort and performance.

The only performance omission, I thought, was the lack of paddle-shifters for the automatic’s manual mode – a feature now common in luxury/performance vehicles but available as an option only on rear-drive CTS models.

From a styling standpoint . . . Holy Toledo, alert the media!

Up front is the handsome, robust face of the sedan. Aft of the B-pillar, of course, the wagon, necessarily, goes its own way.

And what a way!

The profile shows a delicate C-pillar and a wonderously wide D-pillar. I’ll tell ya, you’d have to visit the Parthenon to see a wider pillar.

In back, the convex tailgate is flanked by a pair of machete-blade vertical taillights that run from the bumper all the way up to the roof.
Add creases and lines that are sharp enough to cut steak, and this wagon will never be mistaken for the family’s old Vista Cruiser.

Inside, all the appealing traits of the CTS sedan greet the driver and front passenger, including, in our Premium trim, double-stitched leather on doors and dash, nicely mated wood and aluminum accents and a leather-and-wood wheel. It’s all on par with anything from Japan, and out-styles its more austere European competition.
The seats are comfortable and supportive, but the sharp corner of the centerstack – and this is probably a tall-guy complaint – poked me uncomfortably in the leg.

Visibility from the driver’s seat is fine front, left and right, but rearward views are severely compromised by the aforementioned D-pillar and a tiny rear window. Thank goodness our wagon had the available navigation system, with its pop-up screen that also displays the back-up camera’s images.

That screen, by the way, which rises like a phoenix when called upon, but which conceals itself neatly in the dash when unwanted, is a clever feature, indeed.
In back, room is fine for two average-stature adults. Just be sure to duck getting in or you’ll bonk the ol’ melon on that sloping C-pillar.
The cargo bay, with its standard power-lift tailgate, is beautifully trimmed and versatile, with a carpeted floor that can be folded vertically to create a cargo corral.

Cadillac’s eye-popping first-ever wagon is more proof that GM’s wreath-and-crest brand now gets it. Mercedes and BMW have more than Lexus to worry about.
Prices start at $40,655 – about 3 grand more than the sedan.