Cadillac CTS’ Fine Automobile

VIDEO: Click here for the video…by Casey Williams - www.car-data.com

May 2008A truly fine automobile makes you want to drive to the next universe and back, only to do it again. It’s about taking an extended tour just to enjoy the car’s interior, turning up the radio, revving a powerful engine, and reveling in all of the technology that makes it happen. People knowing you’ve arrived and the style to carry it off is the cherry topper. By that measure, the 2008 Cadillac CTS is one scrumptious cherry.

It looks absolutely stunning. Chief GM designer, Ed Wellburn, and his team performed an incredible piece of artistry by combining the best of Cadillac’s heritage with the current age. A large eggcrate grille is detailed with subtle mesh and chrome strips, elegant chrome fender vents hint at power, and vertical taillamps with a subtle raised and extended profile give the hint of a tailfin. Projector beams and LEDs shine the roadway; light tube taillamps appear so thin at night that fellow roadgoers know from two miles back they are chasing a Cadillac. That’s the way it was and is again. Coming, passing, going, day, or night, you know the CTS is a Cadillac.

Yet, nothing about the CTS looks like the dated fluff wagons many people associate with GM’s premium car brand. What looks deceptively simple is quite intricate. Complex curves flow out and around the wheel openings, which contain 17″ machined alloys and all season touring tires. A little chrome fender vent is made possible by an intricate body stamping that carves the space. High windowsills make passengers feel protected. Even chrome under the third brake lens was not left to amateurs. You could stare at the grille for hours and not see all of its bits of bright pieces.

Few people thought the first-generation CTS’ far-out interior was up to either the visual or tactile standards set by Lexus and Mercedes. Just sitting inside the newest model brings waves of ecstasy. Where the old car was clothed in cheap hard plastic and vinyl, the new version features French stitching - on the dash, doors, and center console. Sapele wood (the real kind) beautifully panels the doors, upper dash, console sides, and steering wheel. Heated leather sport seats, a relatively large back seat, thick carpeting, and V-related design details make this sport sedan a Cadillac. A power twin-panel sunroof lets in plenty of light, but can be covered to keep it out. Lighting glows from slits in the dash and doors at night.

Sad as it may be, I just bought my first iPOD - after buying a stack of old records for my 1958-vintage console record player and converting them to MP3s for convenience. Even for people who sometimes disagree with technology, the iPOD controls are easier than ordering a cheeseburger at McDonald’s. Cadillac offers a cool feature on the CTS that allows you to hook your iPod directly to the car and control it through the audio/navigation control panel. The NAV screen becomes a touch pad that mimics the standard iPOD screen. Very cool. Frank Sinatra, Ricky Nelson, Della Reese, and Eddie Fisher never sounded so good as when played through the 10-speaker Bose 5.1 cabin surround sound.

For many drivers, the CTS’ real artistry can be found under its body. You could buy a CTS with the base 263 hp 3.6-litre V6 engine, but I wouldn’t. For a couple of thousand more, you get a direct-injection version that produces 304 horsepower - about 30 hp more than early Northstar V8s, or slightly more than a V8-powered Cadillac DTS. For fun, choose the Aisin-built six-speed manual transmission, but for one of the smoothest drives going, check the option sheet for the 6-speed auto with driver shift control. Fuel economy for an auto-equipped, direct-injected edition is rated 17/26 mpg city/highway.

If reading the numbers is exciting, then driving is to wet oneself. Even over rough pavement, the CTS’ stiffer suspension soaked up bumps like an accomplished luxury car, but goes through corners with control and balance. I love the new Cadillac steering wheels that feel perfect in the hand - all the better through which to feel the car’s smooth moves. Stabilitrak slide control, electronic traction control, and four-wheel antilock disc brakes stood at the ready in case the suspension, performance tires, and rear-driven wheels took leave of duty. Engineers refined every detail and it shows most on the highway.

The Cadillac CTS hints at the past, lives in the current, but has much room to evolve into the future. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine a diesel or turbo-four under the hood to squeeze pennies from gallons. Those lucky enough to own and drive a CTS already know it is one fine automobile. With an as tested price of $45,200, competition includes the Mercedes C-Class, Infiniti G35, Lexus IS, BMW 3 Series, and Volvo S80.