CADDY SEDAN A BMW BEATER
Forget the badge, this Cadillac is the equal of any sports sedan out there
Let’s just cut to the chase: The answer to the question on everybody’s mind — is the new Cadillac ATS-V as fast as the BMW M3 — is yes. The final judgment on their performance is likely to be closely contested, but it’s nonetheless an affirmation of just how much Cadillac sport sedans have advanced because there’s a good chance the Caddy will dust the mighty BMW.
And not just in brute speed. Oh, to be sure, the ATS-V’s 3.6-litre clearly outmuscles BMW’s iconic 3.0-litre in-line six. Thanks to twin titaniumbladed turbochargers, there’s 464 horsepower on tap, 39 more than the M3 at its peak. The ATS’s maximum torque, 445 pound-feet, holds a similar advantage over the M Division’s finest Bimmer. Mated to the eight-speed automatic transmission, the 3.6L V-6 engine scoots the 1,680-kilogram Cadillac to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds, an advantage of 0.4 to 0.2 seconds over the M3, depending on its transmission (the ATS offers a rev-matching six-speed manual too, but it is a tick slower than the autobox).
Yes, a torque-converted, planetary-geared, pretty much regular automatic. You’ll no doubt hear much decrying of Cadillac’s choice as “lesser.” There will even be claims of simple expediency, The General not yet having engineered a dual-clutch transmission, so Cadillac just raided the company parts bin. But this is simple prejudice.
I know this because prior to first testing a similar transmission in Chevrolet’s Corvette, I too was convinced that a dualclutched manumatic was inherently superior. Actual testing, however, revealed that the quickest way around a racetrack was just to slap the transmission in Drive and let the computer do the shifting. If clutch-loving obsessives can’t deal with the fact that the often-derided slushbox can circumnavigate a racetrack quicker than they can, then that’s a preconception they need to address and not a technical fault that Cadillac needs to correct.
And, finally, here’s something I thought I’d never say — for I too have a soft spot for the M3 — but Cadillac’s V-6 sounds better than BMW’s sonorous in-line six. It purrs on the boulevard, growls all the way to 5,800 r.p.m. on straightaways and literally barks out hairpins. Critics will deride the Cadillac’s syncopation as artificial — some of the V6’s internal combustion soundtrack is piped in — but then so is the M3’s and countless other sports cars, especially those turbocharged like the BMW and Caddy. If this be overdubbing, then consider me a digital convert.
Of course, proponents of Teutonic superiority may be willing, even if begrudgingly, to accede to the ATS-V’s power, but I think they may also to have get used to being second place in the twisties. Because, if the ATS-V was a pleasant surprise down the Circuit of the America’s incredible 1.0 kilometre back straight (we were hitting 230 out of the ATS-V’s 289 km/h claimed top speed), it was positively a revelation through the track’s 20-some hairpins and switchbacks.
Delicate where it needed to be and responsive when called upon, the ATS-V’s steering is extremely well weighted, the car making its way around the track as if every inch of Texas’ twistiest 5.6 kilometres had been GPSed into its hard drive. Whether it’s equal to the M3’s legendary feedback is a question requiring direct headto-head comparison, but know that the Caddy is not outclassed in this scenario.
Those who shop by spec sheet numbers will note that the V’s Michelin Pilot Super Sports tires are smaller — they ride on minuscule-for-these-days 18-inch rims — than many comparable sedans. Jim Knowles, from Michelin’s original equipment product marketing division, notes that this was a concession to comportment for more mundane everyday driving; these Michelins have a relatively taller side wall, which makes the ride better in daily applications.
But the Pilots are just as wide as the M3’s sporting radials — 255 millimetres in front and 275 mm in the rear — and there was no lack of traction around the track, even through the incredibly challenging, high-speed triple-apex Turn 18. The ATS-V’s (optional) in-car data recorder would occasionally register 1.25 Gs, though I suspect that may have included a little driver-flattering exaggeration.
Nonetheless, those wide Michelins stick like the proverbial limpets, Cadillac’s rendition of GM’s Magnetic Ride Control adjustable suspension keeping roll to a minimum. Hustle the baby V into a corner and the suspenders just jack up the damping, the ATS-V diving for apexes like a Kardashian spotting a camera. And GM’s Performance Traction Management — which allows tail-wagging oversteer in complete safety — is simply the best vehicle stability control system in the business, superior even to Porsche’s Stability Management and much better than the current M3’s M Dynamic Mode.
And for its final party trick, the ATS-V proves more civilized than the M3. The Caddy’s superiority on the racetrack may be open for discussion, only conclusively decided when we get the two in a head-to-head battle. What is not debatable, however, is that the new Cadillac achieves its BMW-challenging racecraft without resorting to the M3-like suspension stiffness.
Indeed, switch the suspension mode selector into Tour and the ATS-V does a fair impression of, well, a Caddy. There’s none of the little rock-a-bye-baby dance the M3 performs over road creases or its crash-boom-bang over potholes. General Motors says Magnetic Ride Control — which sends electrical current to all four shocks to alter their viscosity — is the fastest-adjusting suspension system in the world, altering its stiffness for every single inch of roadway, even at 100 km/h. Such close scrutiny of tarmac makes for a smooth ride.
A few traditional Cadillac bugaboos remain. Though the newly configured LCD speed and tachometer gauge set is a delight, the Cue infotainment system still lacks the user-friendliness of Audi’s MMI or — dare I say it — Ford’s latest Sync system. Then there’s the piano black trim that Cadillac thinks is so classy: It needs to go. Seriously, I think the company has just dug in its corporate heels, determined to be different just for the sake of uniqueness; the fact that customers might prefer ubiquitous, but tasteful, wood trim be damned. The leather is exquisite, however, the seats providing bolstering, and the decor — piano black notwithstanding — well penned.
Throw in a price tag more than a few thousand dollars cheaper than the BMW — $68,055 ($65,750 for the coupe version) — and the bottom line is, this is a sports sedan that is the equal of any. With no need to apologize for the badge on its hood.