Cadillac's Black Diamond is on the cutting edge

You'll probably never need a 200-mph station wagon, but if you do, isn't it nice to know the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Black Diamond is also a good value, comfortable and has plenty of room for people and cargo?

The Black Diamond edition adds sculpted Recaro high-performance seats and visual glitz to the CTS-V wagon's superb drivetrain and chassis.

That's right; your image of station wagons as stodgy suburban drones is just sooo 20th century. The few station wagons on the road today are stylish luxury models, loaded with power and technology.

The CTS-V wagon cranks the power to almost cartoonish levels with a 556-horsepower supercharged V8.

Dolled up in Black Diamond cosmetics and with running gear upgraded to handle the power and keep the shiny side up, the CTS-V is an exciting package, despite its high fuel consumption and the lack of some relatively common features.

Ask yourself this: What's it worth to have a car that combines the practicality of a station wagon, the comfort and features of a luxury sedan and 4.0-second zero-to-60 mph acceleration?

It's worth exactly the sticker price of a 2011 Cadillac CTS-V station wagon, which starts at $62,360.

I tested a well-equipped CTS-V with the Black Diamond appearance package that cost $68,615, including a $1,300 federal gas-guzzler tax. All prices exclude destination charges.

The CTS-V is by far the most powerful station wagon you can buy. It competes with other luxury and performance models like the Audi A6 Avant 3.0T Quattro wagon, BMW 550i GT hatchback, Lincoln MKT crossover wagon and Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic wagon.

All the CTS-V's running gear is upgraded to handle the extra power. The engine uses an Eaton supercharger to compress air, effectively giving it the output of a bigger powerplant.

Superchargers are compressors that are driven by a mechanical connection to the engine.

Turbochargers, which also compress intake air, are driven by the engine's exhaust gas.

The downside to superchargers is that they draw some power directly from the engine. That may increase fuel consumption more than a turbo.

Superchargers and turbochargers both help engines generate more torque at lower rpm.

None of the competitors can match the CTS-V wagon's horsepower, torque or 4.0-second 0-60 time. The 550i GT comes closest, at 5.4 seconds.

All the competitors get better fuel economy than the CTS-V's EPA rating of 14 mpg in the city, 19 on the highway and 16 in combined driving. All the vehicles except the MKT use premium fuel.

The CTS-V wagon is quiet and comfortable at high speeds. It absorbs bumps well, despite its 19-inch wheels and low-profile Michelin PS2 performance tires.

Brembo brakes - with special yellow calipers on the Black Diamond CTS-V I tested - provide excellent stopping power and feel.

The CTS-V comes with a lot of advanced goodies standard, including the adaptive shocks, an excellent Bose stereo, a navigation system, touch-screen controls and compatibility with Bluetooth hands-free phones.

It lacks a few features you can get on less-expensive cars, including a blind-spot alert, Bluetooth audio, adaptive cruise control and more sophisticated voice recognition.

The CTS-V Black Diamond wagon's interior is comfortable, useful, luxurious and contemporary.

There's plenty of passenger space, and the cargo compartment offers 25 cubic feet when the rear seat is in use; 58 when it's folded.

The interior materials included black perforated leather seats and optional suede wraps for the steering wheel and shifter.

The optional Black Diamond exterior paint is flecked with glistening highlights, which are matched by subtle sparkles in the midnight sapele wood-trim package.