While building your own family unit is one of the most rewarding and exciting things a human can experience, gearheads more often than not need to park their passion to one side in favor of purchasing a vehicle that'll prove usable in a family scenario. This means that it normally needs to be affordable to buy, cheap to maintain, and also practical enough to carry extra occupants and cargo. Squeezing small children into the back of a Porsche 911 isn't ideal, even if it is one of the more practical sports cars on the market.Luckily, Cadillac came to the rescue of family-oriented gearheads in the early 2010s with a performance wagon version of its CTS-V sports sedan. The trouble is, you'll need to save up a fair chunk of money to add one to your collection these days, as they have become pretty sought after. The CTS-V Was Built To Take On The World Cadillac Cadillac was determined to push its sporting pretensions as the new millennium got underway, primarily in an attempt to shake off its image of only selling cars to the older generation. It felt its sales potential was being severely limited, so it got started making high-performance versions of its models to help tempt younger buyers into its vehicles. One of the first was the CTS-V, a hot version of its CTS mid-size sedan that was built to take the fight to the world's most commanding sports sedans, like the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG. The Cadillac's first attempt fell a little short of its European rivals, but this only made the company more determined than ever to nail the formula at its second attempt.The second-gen CTS-V was unleashed in 2009, and featured a more advanced all-round independent suspension setup that also boasted MagneRide, an adaptive damping system that meant the car could offer both a smooth and sportier ride depending on the situation. It also got an uprated supercharged V8, which provided it with more outright grunt than its rivals. The CTS-V Wagon Is The More Practical Version Of Cadillac's Sports Sedan Cadillac Aside from the performance enhancements, one of the most interesting facts about the second-gen CTS-V is that it could be had as a wagon. The first version was only ever offered as a sedan, but Cadillac felt that there was a market for a more practical variant, much in the same way BMW and Mercedes had envisaged with their M5 Touring and E63 Wagon models. While only the sedan was available for the first couple of years, the wagon made its debut in 2011. The CTS-V Wagon Is Still Worth A Fortune Over A Decade On Cadillac In the end, Cadillac found that not many drivers wanted a supercharged V8 performance wagon for their day-to-day lives. The company only offered the version for a few years, before it was discontinued beyond the 2014 model year. The third-gen CTS-V was released shortly afterward, and remained purely as a sedan until its eventual replacement. This was despite the wagon costing a little less than the sedan to buy, with a base MSRP of $63,215, around $100 less than the sedan. As it turns out, the CTS-V wagon has lost little value over the decade since it went out of production and, conversely, is worth more than it was when new.Looking at used values, the most valuable model you can get is the manual, which rocks an average auction sale value of $65,451, a few grand more than it cost new. Specimens equipped with the six-speed automatic transmission are worth considerably less on average, with a value of $53,625. Lower mileage models are worth a lot more, and you can expect to pay closer to $75,000 for a decent unit.As we mentioned, the manual is more expensive, and finding a pristine model with this transmission is possible, but you'll pay a pretty penny. The most expensive one we could find at the time of writing is a beautiful 2012 black-on-black with only 3,600 miles on the clock. The dealership in question is asking more than double what the car cost when it was new, and more than BMW will charge you for a brand-new M5 Touring. The CTS-V Wagon's Rarity Is The Chief Reason For Its Heightened Value Cadillac The CTS-V Wagon has increased in worth so considerably over the years for a couple of reasons. The main reason is just how rare it is, as only 1,764 examples were crafted over its four-year model run. As the years go by, some will be crashed or written off for other reasons, making the remaining specimens even more exclusive. Rarity is one of the main drivers for escalating values in older vehicles, while the CTS-V Wagon's commanding performance will only help further add to its collectibility. The CTS-V Wagon Will Show A Range Of Performance Cars The Way Cadillac The CTS-V Wagon shares the same 6.2-liter supercharged V8 as its sedan and coupe siblings, meaning it gets an identical 556 hp sent to the rear wheels. The cast aluminum unit was also designed to be as light as possible to help keep the vehicle's weight distribution as even as possible, and Cadillac's engineers' efforts appear to have been put to good use with the vehicle's near bang-on 51/49% bias. The monstrous powerplant powers the CTS-V Wagon past the 60 mph barrier in around four seconds, which is pretty eye-opening given the vehicle weighs well north of 4,300 pounds. Cadillac's Practical Sledgehammer Also Tames The Bends Effectively Cadillac So determined was Cadillac to take the fight to its Euro rivals, that it continually took the CTS-V to the revered Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany to dial in the vehicle's settings and develop its suspension and braking systems, as well as the chassis. The even weight bias, advanced suspension setup, and limited-slip differential all work together to ensure that the CTS-V feels alive and responsive in every phase of the corner.Forget family errands, the CTS-V Wagon will give plenty of focused performance coupes and sports cars something to think about if you decide to explore its limits on a racetrack. The Caddy Is Still Effective As A Family Bus Cadillac Hang on, it's meant to be a family wagon, isn't it? Well luckily, its raised rear roofline affords it considerably more cabin space than the normal sedan version can muster. While the wagon and sedan offer identical levels of head and legroom front and rear, the former comes out clearly ahead in terms of load capacity. While the sedan can present you with 13.6 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats up, the wagon betters it with a 25 cubic feet figure. With the rear seats folded flat, this number swells to a useful 58 cubic feet.Aside from the extra space, the CTS-V Wagon also comes with all the usual refinements you'd expect from a range-topping model. These include a great climate control system, satellite navigation, and heated leather bucket seats. Of course, the focused performance machine will cost more than a normal wagon to keep fueled and maintained thanks to all those extra bespoke components, but who cares if you have plenty of money to burn. You only live once after all, and it's likely the family will fully support your life choice. Well, probably.
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