It’s about going fast in style and comfort
What sets this car apart from the competition is how pleasant it is out on the road
KOHLER, WIS.— The ATS-V proved that Cadillac can compete head-to-head with the BMW M3. Dare it take a shot at the mighty BMW M5?
Stuff a Corvette Z06 640-horse supercharged V8 into the mid-size CTS sedan, add Magnetic Ride Control and bring the CTS-V to the challenging Road America race track for evaluation.
Yeah, I can do that. The vehicle The third-generation CTS is a right proper car. Looks good, rides and handles well, decent room, nice interior.
Still, there is a lot of snob appeal in the luxury car segment, so it has been a challenge for Cadillac to wean customers away from their German and Japanese brands.
But if going fast in style and comfort is what a mid-size performance sedan is all about, you simply cannot overlook the “V” iteration of this car.
To make sure your neighbours know you paid more for your CTS than they did, the V model comes with a lightweight carbon fibre hood with air extractor scoop, revised front and rear fascias, wider fenders and unique road wheels.
An optional “carbon” package adds a carbon fibre front splitter and taller rear deck spoiler.
These changes aren’t merely cosmetic, but help direct air through, under and around the car for improved cooling, reduced drag and increased downforce.
Several structural reinforcements keep the massive performance in check.
That V8 engine, not “dry-sumped” like it is in the lower-slung Corvette but otherwise pretty similar, is not merely about that lofty horsepower number but the 630 lb.-ft. of torque, which comes in low and just stays there until it’s time to shift.
Paddle shifters are there if you think you can do a better job than the tranny’s own brain (hint: you can’t). Interesting that unlike the ATS-V, there is no shift lever toggle function on the CTS-V.
Magnetic Ride Control delivers what I still think is the best ride/ handling mix in the business. If it’s good enough for Ferrari . . .
You can choose from a variety of settings, depending on how aggressively you want to drive.
What Cadillac claims are the largest discs in the industry, gripped by calipers engineered with Italian race-brake maker Brembo, means you can stop as well as you can go.
I still have difficulty with “CUE’’ — Cadillac’s Customer User Experience touchscreen. Perhaps you’ll adapt better than I did. But the spacious interior, especially with the optional Recaro sport seats, is a very pleasant place to be. Driving impressions Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Call me corrupt. This thing just hauls. Zero-to-100 km/h comes up in about four seconds, and it keeps going (the track and the law allowing) to over 320 km/h.
The only slight hitch I found in the powertrain is the fourth-to-fifth shift drops the revs more than I would like.
That shift takes place at a very high rate of knots, so not a biggie . . .
Road America is murder on brakes: long straights, followed by 90-degree (or sharper) corners. With virtually unlimited track time available, we couldn’t come close to detecting fade in this car.
Steering turn-in is excellent, aided in no small measure by Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires developed exclusively for this car. Three different rubber compounds are arrayed across the tread surface, each one doing specific duty: initial cornering, ultimate grip, smooth ride on the highway.
Oh yeah, the highway. Because that’s what really sets the CTS-V apart from the competition — how comfortable it is out on the road.
Unless you drive like a hooligan — frankly, hard not to — your passengers will barely grasp the potential this car has.
I don’t know many Cadillac owners who would ever consider taking their cars out to a track day. If they do, there is going to be some serious “What the heck was that?’’ reaction from the foreign car contingent.
Yes, the CTS-V is that good.