Cadillac CTS-V
The Americans are finally targeting BMW in their own back yard says Robert Farago
Petrolheads believe cars have personality, character and yes, soul. Putting the pedal to the metal in a Cadillac CTS-V, it’s hard not to agree. The 5.7-liter powerplant bellows, the tires squirm and the V charges at the horizon with all the determination of an enraged bull heading for a matador’s cape. Red line Caddy’s 400-horse four-door and she’ll give you everything she’s got. And man, she’s got a lot. The V rockets from zero to sixty in 4.7 seconds and completes the ¼ mile in 13.1. If the V was a bull, I’d want to be one very fast matador.
Amazingly, the CTS-V is not all about brute force. Unlike its rip-snorting cousins - the Dodge Viper, Chevrolet Corvette and Dodge SRT10 - the V is a serious agile whip. As hard as it is to comprehend, the CTS-V, a Cadillac, could well be America’s finest handling car. Yes folks, it’s true: Detroit has finally produced a car to rival a BMW.
G Force
Not buying it? Fling the CTS-V into a bend. Watch the G-forces build on the dashboard’s digital read-out. Feel those 18” Goodyear Eagles grab the tarmac like a Rottweiler-gone-bad locked onto its owner’s leg. Don’t worry about the road surface; the V’s Nürburgring-fettled suspension easily dismisses imperfections that would unsettle less competent machines.
Now, adjust your line through the corner. The V’s stiffened yet forgiving chassis lets you explore the limits of adhesion without fear of fatality. Unless you completely misjudge a bend or deliberately over-cook it, the car will sail through the most radical radii. Or, alternatively, stop. The V’s Brembo brakes shed speed with fade-free brutality and precision.
Balance
Thanks to its big-bore V8 and track-tuned handling, there are two ways to exploit the CTS-V’s talents. One: finesse the car through the twisties. Stay on the gas, position the car carefully and maintain momentum. Apply power as needed. Two: floor it and see what happens. A reasonably skilled driver can use the engine’s 395 ft. lbs. of torque to power in and out of trouble. Drivers favoring the second approach will be pleased to learn that even on its most invasive setting, the “Stabilitrak” nanny allows for some tasty tail sliding before cutting-in to save you from “embarrassment”.
OK. You’ve heard the news: the Cadillac CTS-V is the first US four-door with the driving dynamics of a European sports sedan since, well, ever. Patriotic American enthusiasts have waited decades for a car like this to come along. But let’s keep things in perspective. Despite all the buzz about the CTS-V being “America’s M5”, it’s a Caddy, not a BMW, and definitely not a BMW M5.
Calm Down
For one thing, the CTS-V doesn’t feel welded-to-the-tarmac like Munich’s M-machine. While the V offers Cadillac buyers an unprecedented level of high speed finesse, the brand’s luxury heritage demanded a significant measure of ride comfort. The trade-off leaves the CTS-V with no small amount of body roll and a general feeling of daintiness. Ask the car some tricky questions and it gets a bit jumpy, like a cat on a hot tin roof.
The CTS-V is also slower than an M5. Call it axle tramp or wheel hop, but whenever you give the CTS-V’s go-pedal a proper pasting there’s a God-almighty clunk in the rear. For the crucial first second, the car struggles to get its power down. Even when the CTS-V’s electronics and mechanical linkages finally get things organized, the CTS-V lacks the oomph to catch up with the similarly-horsed M5. Not at 60, 70, 100 or beyond.
And then there’s steering feel, or lack thereof. While the M5’s recirculating ball steering dispenses automotive Prozac, the CTS-V’s power-assisted rack-and-pinion system was Novocained at birth. With 3.5 turns from lock-to-lock and nothing to tell you where you are in the turning process, you have to remember not to attack corners too aggressively, lest excessively sharp turn-in makes a complete mess of things. Again, blame Cadillac’s luxury bias.
Real World
Does that really matter? The M is faster and tidier at extra-legal velocities, but its interior is as dour as German heavy metal. The Caddy’s crib is dope. The V also provides a lot more elbow and leg room than the Teutonic tornado. And anyway, the new M5 is about to make the scene with even more power, better handling and a properly weighted helm. It will crush the V. So why not let consumers pay BMW a hefty premium for the ultimate sports sedan, and mop-up the wanna-bees with something a lot cheaper and a little slower?
Because that’s not the way Cadillac thinks. Not anymore. Hence the CTS-V “Plus” recently discovered testing at the ‘Ring. That bad boy holsters a 500hp six-liter V8 with no-compromise steering and suspension. After caning the V, I predict Caddy’s new, feistier beast will meet or beat the best. No bull.
Robert Farago
www.thetruthaboutcars.com
Link: Cadillac Owners
Yada yada yada yada... 
This is what Cadillac should have done with the Catera, but I guess they didn't have the money to up-rate the Omega platform the way Holden have done.
They mourn the passing of the F-Bodies (Camaro and Firebird), yet the Monaro (new Pontiac GTO) seems to match their specs, and we're even getting a Vauxhall one!
Back to the good old days methinks. Just like the '60s - desireable muscle is emerging from Detroit once again, Aston Martin have a 3-car lineup, Lotus have some more luxurious beauties in the pipeline and Alfa Romeo are rebodying like nobodies' business.
To coin a phrase, I'm lovin' it.
ford gt is america's finest handling car.
Every time the US produces a car with a handling bias over ride bias, there's about a week's concession that all american cars suck at this uncalculable quality, but that line doesn't apply for whichever car is in question. It's been said for the corvette, the viper, the mustang cobra, the lincoln LS v8 sport, the std cadillac CTS, and chrysler 300C. As soon as the most comparable BMW is deemed better, usually m3 or m5, not only is the american car considered not as good as the german car, which I won't disagree with, as I have a high regard for bmw, but the american car in question is then deemed not a good handling car at all! hypocrisy! Farago didn't like the handling of the 300c, but he's about the only one. I'm gonna go rummage through what the printed reputable sources have said and then post those here. If you conceed that the above cars are not good handlers but are above the rest of the american cars, then I pity you and your popularity driven opinion. I think it's angst over how your market is barely considered at all in the development of the US' new product because you usually don't amount to the sales value of rhode island. Drive 'em, buy 'em, and when you're considered a priority, the performance cars won't change over here, but the boring ones will.
C&D did, in their March '04 issue (which also had the M3 thrown in for good measure; the CTS-V is, after all, priced at $50K USD, same as the M3):
"For example, in a ride-and-handling round-robin tour of our 10Best test loop, the Cadillac's rather aggressive suspension tuning trailed the more supple M5 in ride quality but wasn't as hard-edged as the M3. On the other hand, we rated its steering feel and response on a par with the BMWs', and we were impressed with the high threshold of Cadillac's stability-control system—much more willing to allow a little sliding than that of either BMW, and much less intrusive when it did intervene. We were even more impressed that GM allows the option of shutting down the system."
It also stopped 1 foot longer than the M5, but displayed better braking feel.
Most owners, though, will ditch these run-flat tires once they're done with them. (The M5 doesn't have run-flats.) This not only improves ride quality, but generally further improves handling. Swapping out the run-flat tires on a Corvette to those of the Z06 can net as much as a 2.9 second difference on a 54-second road course.
The new V10 M5 will probably blow it into the weeds though, bring on a V12 caddy, probably still wont touch the M5 for brilliance but would still be a hoot
you can never have too many mega power RWD super saloons
Road_Terrorist said:
maybe they are trying a bit too hard to match BMW because that thing looks just as ugly as the new 5 series, which is a pity. Holden have been doing a 4 door 5.7L V8 sedan that handles quite well (not up to M5 standards, but is there any largish 4 door saloon with better handling than an M5?) for some time, looks better as well.
The new V10 M5 will probably blow it into the weeds though, bring on a V12 caddy, probably still wont touch the M5 for brilliance but would still be a hoot
you can never have too many mega power RWD super saloons
I think the CTS looks pretty good actually - better than the somewhat blobby holden coupe sold as the Pontiac GTO (I much prefer the 4 door Commodore in the looks department)
Robert Farago doies say in his article that they're working on a 500bhp version to compete with the new M5, and you have hit on another great reason to buy this over the M5 - it hasn't been bungled...
Plus with a chevy V8 this'll sound a shitload better then the BMW
$50000
$50000
This car doesn't compete against the M5. End of story. Still less against the forthcoming V10. Hmmm, what shall I buy today, an MGF or a Porsche Boxster, assuming I can disregard purchase price as an irrelevance.
Ugly is a subjective quality. No new M5 driver could sit there and say the Caddy looks ugly when he's sitting in a Bangled BMW. Pot, kettle etc.
IMHO the Caddy looks better than the 5 series but again, this car competes with a mid-range 5-series, not an M5. Straight six BMW or Z06 V8? Hard one that. It is the same price as an M3, a smaller compact car with no room inside. Even if the M3 handles better, it hasn't got 400hp or room for 5.
The CTS-V isn't coming to Europe so that's academic as it can't be converted to rhd. Imported? By the time you've added import duty and VAT, it would be £39000 pre-SVA (@ 1.7 to the pound)which is a shade more expensive than a 380bhp Monaro VXR. However, wait a year or so and the depreciation will bring this into a very affordable buying bracket. I would buy one when I can no longer cram people into my Camaro and can no longer use the Z06 as it combines the best of everything that I hold as desirable in a car, including looks. IMHO, it's better looking than the Monaro.
Of course, the Americans aren't buying the Pontiac "Monaro" so it seems muscle car buyers still prefer their muscle cars to be designed and built in America and the Mustang Cobra offers a more attractive 400bhp...doesn't handle like an M3 but outguns it for less money.
And the Z06 handles better too....
>
>Don't see how that's relevant at all.
I agree--it's not. Considering, though, that BMW has won practically all the comparison tests and that the 3 and 5 series makes their 10Best list year after year, I'd say that BMW probably spends more money advertising with C&D!
Which makes it all the more amazing that Cadillac is making inroads into the lux/sport market and convincing typically jaded journalists (heck, who ain't jaded after the last 20 years' of GM's performance...STS? Catera? Cimarron? C'mon!) that Cadillac is credible. I think it's pretty neat, and it can't be at all bad for anyone who likes fast luxury sedans...the more choice, the better, I say.
I like Cadillac because of their distinctive styling, and not every yuppie wants one--they're all busy trying to afford BMW's, when it used to be that BMW was the connoisseur's car, kind of understated, unexpected compared to the traditional Benz. At least here in the US...
Now Bimmers are every yuppie's car of choice, and damn, they're expensive, too!!...
The CTS-V on the other hand is a bit more understated and doesn't have the yuppie image of the BMW. Okay, so it's a little bit "old man" but who cares...400hp for $50k should cure you of that complaint.
dinkel said:
. . . with a chevy V8 this'll sound a shitload better then the BMW
M5 V10
surely you make a joke . . .
Ah, so the day arrives and Autocar describe the sound of the V10 as disappointing, a bit like a diesel. So now we know for certain which soundtrack is the best. You can't beat a good V8 - not even a Viper sounds as good.
Gassing Station | Motoring News | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff