2011 Cadillac CTS Wagon Overview Change Vehicle

This 2011 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2011 CTS Sport Wagon, and includes Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

Just one year after its debut, the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon receives numerous upgrades and is now offered in a new high-performance CTS-V version (see separate review). Cadillac is also shifting the CTS Sport Wagon’s positioning, putting it up against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class Wagon as a value-laden alternative.

One way of delivering that value is through a new Cadillac Premium Care Maintenance plan that provides free scheduled maintenance for the first four years or 50,000 miles. The 2011 CTS Sport Wagon can also be equipped with a heated steering wheel, and a new reversing camera system is optional independent of the extra-cost navigation system. All models are available with optional 19-inch wheels this year, a new version of OnStar debuts, and new colors include Evolution Green and Carbon Flash.

With two different engines and four levels of trim, there’s a Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon to suit just about anyone.

The least expensive choice is the base model with the 3.0-liter V6 engine. It includes leatherette rather than real leather seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, and a Bose stereo with satellite radio, an auxiliary audio input jack, and a CD player. OnStar telematics is also included, featuring one year of free service to features like Automatic Crash Notification. Additionally, the CTS Wagon is equipped with power windows, power heated side mirrors, power door locks with remote keyless entry, a leather-wrapped tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, cruise control, and floor mats. A power tailgate and automatic headlights are also installed on every CTS Wagon, along with an eight-way power driver’s seat, automatic headlights, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, and 17-inch aluminum wheels. All-wheel drive and an Ultra View double sunroof are optional on this model.

Extra equipment is available in upgraded trim levels that Cadillac calls “Collections.” For the CTS Sport Wagon with the standard 3.0-liter V6, a Luxury Collection model adds a number of luxury-oriented features and expands the availability of options. Leather, heated 10-way power front seats, Sapele wood interior trim, ambient cabin lighting, a reversing camera, and Bluetooth hands-free connectivity are standard on this model. The Luxury Collection model also gets nicer aluminum wheels, fog lights, rain-sensing wipers, a cargo cover, and a cargo net, as well as memory for the driver’s seat and mirror settings, a HomeLink universal remote control, and a CD changer. In addition to AWD and an Ultra View double sunroof, the CTS Luxury Collection can be upgraded with a Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround sound audio system and a hard-disc navigation system with a USB port.

Selecting the Performance Collection model provides a mix-and-match of Luxury Collection equipment and performance-oriented upgrades. This version of the CTS Sport Wagon has a sport-tuned suspension, better brakes, 18-inch aluminum wheels, and adaptive bi-Xenon headlights with headlamp washers. The optional Performance Luxury Package adds a number of desirable features, including a power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, keyless entry with push-button starting, and a Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround audio system. Sapele wood trim decorates the Performance Luxury model’s cabin, and this package also adds a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, ambient cabin lighting, cabin air filtration, and remote engine starting. Performance Collection models can be outfitted with an extra-cost AWD system, a navigation system and an Ultra View double sunroof.

The Performance Collection model can also be upgraded with a more powerful 3.6-liter V6 engine. When this version is chosen, the Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround premium sound system is standard and includes USB/iPod connectivity and a 40-gig hard drive. The Performance Luxury Package is optional on this model, as well as AWD, a navigation system and an Ultra View double sunroof. A 19-inch Summer Tire Performance Package adds 19-inch aluminum wheels, three-season performance tires, upgraded brakes, a performance suspension, performance engine cooling, sport steering calibration, paddle shifters, and a limited-slip differential.

The most expensive CTS Sport Wagon, aside from the new CTS-V model, is the Premium Collection variant. It comes with everything except the 19-inch Summer Tire Performance Package as standard equipment.

The CTS Sport Wagon is rather heavy, with curb weights starting at 3,858 pounds before any options or an all-wheel-drive system are added, and that means the standard direct-injected 3.0-liter V6 engine is inadequate for this car.

Making 270 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 223 pound-feet of torque at 5,700 rpm, the 3.0-liter V6 needs to be revved hard to access maximum power output, and that means fuel economy takes a hit. Compounding this V6’s mediocrity is the fact that the available 3.6-liter V6 is almost as fuel-efficient. That’s why we recommend the stronger direct-injected 3.6-liter V6, which generates 304 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 273 lb-ft. of torque at 5,200 rpm.

A six-speed automatic is standard with both engines, and delivers power to the rear wheels. An all-wheel-drive system is optional. EPA fuel economy estimates are 18-city/27-highway with the 3.0-liter V6 and rear-wheel drive (highway mileage drops to 16 mpg with AWD), and 18-city/26-highway with the 3.6-liter V6 and rear- or all-wheel drive.

The CTS Sport Wagon is equipped with six airbags, four-wheel vented-disc antilock brakes with brake assist, and OnStar telematics with one year of free service. Among the many OnStar services, Automatic Crash Notification and Emergency Services are critical to occupant safety, because they both can put a live operator in touch with the CTS in an emergency situation or after an airbag deployment so that rescuers can be sent to the car’s location as quickly as possible. The CTS Wagon is also available with a reversing camera, reverse parking sensors, adaptive bi-Xenon headlights, and rain-sensing wipers.

Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) nor the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has performed crash tests on the 2011 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. The only rating that is available to report is a 4-Star rollover resistance rating.

While we cannot comment on whether the CTS Sport Wagon is safe, we can report that the CTS received the best possible reliability prediction from Consumer Reports. That’s good news, and the new Premium Care Maintenance plan for the CTS, which provides free scheduled maintenance for the first four years or 50,000 miles, makes CTS Sport Wagon ownership even more appealing.

The Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon is definitely different, and in a good way. It is refreshing to see America’s only station wagon model wearing such stylish design. The CTS also offers a strong value proposition, thanks in part to new market positioning in the mid-luxury class but also due to its new Cadillac Premium Care free maintenance plan. However, now that Cadillac is gunning for bigger fish with the CTS, the car’s cramped back seat and small cargo area are even more problematic than before.

By Christian Wardlaw