THIS CTS IS LOADED FOR COMFORT
Luxurious, powerful sedan can compete with any of its peers
The original CTS, with its Arts and Science design language, literally hauled Cadillac out of the fire and started it down the road to success. True, the original looked like it had been cut from a solid billet of steel, such were the razor-sharp edges, but it was a welcome break from the amorphous blobs that defined the segment at the time. The latest CTS is, like its predecessors, all about its hard-edged attitude. However, this time around the taut creases have been tempered, which adds a more upscale look. More importantly, there’s a healthy dose of luxury to go along with a boatload of leading-edge technology.
The cabin is a very slick place, featuring top-notch materials, comfortable long-distance seating and technology, from a solid infotainment system with navigation (Cue in Caddy-speak) to the ability to self park. It is also very quiet, with laminated glass in the side windows, which does a great job of muting unwanted outside noise.
The instrumentation is rather bland compared to the expressive nature that defines the rest of the car. The upside proved to be the full-colour head-up display. It put all the pertinent information in the driver’s line of sight and more than makes up for the lifeless instrumentation.
The CTS has all the latest features, including blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, forward-collision and cross-traffic alerts, to go along with the intelligent high-beam control and adaptive cruise control. Loaded is the only way to describe the CTS. In this regard it brings everything the competition offers and then some.
Slide rearward and there is the room required to accommodate two adults comfortably. However, the shortcoming is found in the trunk, and this in spite of the split/folding seat backs; at 388 litres of space, it falls shy of many of its intended competitors.
The base CTS sedan arrives with a 2.0-litre Turbo that’s good for 272 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. However, the smart money will option up to the 3.6-L V-6 and its 321 h.p. and 275 lb-ft of torque. Along with the boost in power comes a healthy dose of refinement. The Turbo is not bad, as force-fed four-cylinders go, but compared to the V-6 it sounds somewhat stressed when it’s worked to the max. Both engines are married to a six-speed manumatic transmission.
What impressed me was the fact that Cadillac listened to customers who took the company to task for a glaring omission: the paddle shifters are active, regardless of the shifter’s position. Thank you, at last common sense has prevailed!
With the V-6 aboard, the CTS is an enviable performer. It scoots to 100 km/h in six seconds and it accomplishes the more important 80-to-120 km/h passing move in an equally speedy five seconds. Now, if that is not quite enough performance, opt for the V Sport version. With a 420-h.p., twin-turbo 3.6-L V-6 under the hood, it races to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds.
The handling characteristics match the rest of the car and, indeed, any of the intended competition. When the CTS was flogged through a series of switchbacks, the magnetic ride suspension put on a stellar display. By monitoring the body’s motion up to a 1,000 times a second, it keeps things flat and unflustered. Throw in the crisp response to steering input and the fact understeer is far enough out it is basically benign, and you have a sporty drive.
It would be very easy to dismiss the CTS. Fortunately, I resisted the urge to pass it over and enjoyed the driving experience enormously.
The cabin is luxurious, and with the V-6 engine and allwheel drive along for the ride, it has the wherewithal to go headto-head with any of its peers. As such, it acts as a solid anchor for Cadillac’s burgeoning portfolio.