The Cadillac CTS V Sport is a performance car sheathed in an overtly Cadillac body.
Lightweight body parts. Brembo brakes with optional performance linings. Two turbos. Two driven wheels out back. Staggered tires with 275s out back.
| THE GOOD • The steering • The engine • The handling • The styling • It's unexpected | THE BAD • Give me buttons • That turn signal stalk • It'll get you noticed • Like sitting in a cave • A base CTS + 46% |
It’s not the numbers – 420 horsepower, 430 lb-ft of torque, 0-100 mph in 10.5 seconds according to Car & Driver, braking from 60 to rest in 103 feet according to Edmunds – that turn the CTS from an indirect successor of the Fleetwood into the most dynamic car in its class. No, the sensation of athleticism in the CTS V Sport is not entirely quantifiable.
The overwhelming impression that the CTS V Sport is a sports car and not a luxury sedan that relies on feature count or historic imagery to excite is an impression gleaned from a few pushes of the console-mounted driver-selectable button: Tour becomes Sport becomes Track. How I’ve missed CTS V Sport's Track mode since the car departed my driveway a week ago.
Thing is, even in that most comfort-oriented Tour mode, the CTS V Sport comes across as a lively package, like a frisky little subcompact hatchback that suggests a performance version with stiffened suspension and a bit more power would be a home run.
2014 CADILLAC CTS V SPORT Base Price * (CDN): $76,295 As-Tested Price * (CDN): $76,550 Engine: 3.6L twin-turbocharged DOHC 24-valve V6 Transmission: 8-speed automatic Horsepower: 420 @ 5750 rpm Torque: 430 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm Curb Weight: 3984 pounds Drive Type: rear-wheel-drive Length: 195.5 inches Width: 72.2 inches Height: 57.2 inches Wheelbase: 114.6 inches Passenger Volume: 2746 litres Cargo Volume: 388 litres EPA City: 16 mpg EPA Highway: 24 mpg NRCAN OEE City: 15.1 L/100 km NRCAN OEE Hwy: 9.9 L/100 km Observed: 19.9 mpg Observed: 11.8 L/100 km * includes destination/delivery. MPG fuel economy ratings from the Environmental Protection Agency. L/100km ratings from the Canadian Office of Energy Efficiency's new 5-cycle testing for MY2015 vehicles. |
The CTS’s available options create new experiences.
One would expect a car that steers with this level of accuracy and immediacy, a car that can be tossed into a corner and realigned in the case of a mole running across the road, would suffer from ride imperfections. Even in Tour mode, the CTS V Sport is firm, but don’t mistake firm for harsh. Firm equals level; firm doesn’t detract from straight-ahead tracking on the highway. There’s no denying the increased aggression of Sport and especially Track modes, but the V Sport easily remains within the borders of comfort, far from a punishing zone.
Whether this is down to 50/50 weight distribution or nitpicky engineers who sought perfection, I don’t care. To drive a car that can do the things this car can do when it’s being hustled, while still managing to feel even in that high-octane moment like a device that isolates only what its driver wants to isolate, is to not want to drive other cars.
GM Canada delivered the CTS V Sport to GoodCarBadCar for one week, a week in which I drove far more often than necessary. I was prone to forgetting things at the grocery store. Oops, better head back out. Everybody went for extended ride-alongs which routinely featured multiple on-ramps. I’d read and I’d been told that this was a special car. People can’t help but spout the specs in a can-you-believe fashion. This isn’t even the craziest CTS, they’d all say.
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This level of interaction and athleticism would have auto reviewers excited regardless of the class in which the car competes, but I couldn’t help but be especially pleased because of the increasing softness in a segment which used to be full of sports sedans, softness that's thankfully missing in this Cadillac.
• Historic Monthly & Yearly Cadillac CTS Sales Figures
• 2014 Cadillac SRX Driven Review
• 2014 Audi S4 Driven Review
• 2015 Hyundai Genesis V6 Driven Review
By the end of its stay, I realized that we thought nothing of travelling in a group of four adults with a rear-facing child seat in the back, as well. It dawned on me that, given the frequency with which I applied heavy doses of throttle, fuel consumption of 11.8 L/100 km was actually quite good.
The user interface wasn’t as frustrating as it was in the ATS last year or even the SRX earlier this year, but I wonder what’s wrong with buttons that depress.
It only makes sense that the CTS’s disappointing sales performance relates to that high price. It’s true, the CTS is a perfectly reasonable value in comparison with its newfound direct rivals like the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. But the couple who visits a Cadillac dealer as their three-year-old CTS’s lease expires is likely to be somewhat dismayed by the new car’s elevated price and equally discouraged by the size of the ATS’s rear seat.
Personally, I am also put off by CUE, but not to the extent that I would not learn to cope with its inefficiencies over time. Unfortunately, I’ve been told that even at one-third the cost, pre-owned a few years from now, the current Cadillac CTS V Sport will never be featured as this family’s main car. Everyone agreed that sitting in the CTS was a lot like sitting in a cave, no matter how high you raise the seats. Mrs. Cain, lacking all manner of WNBA-like stature, struggled mightily to see the outside world. At 5-foot-11, I myself felt enveloped, and not in a good way. Blind spot monitoring and lane departure warnings assist and cameras, but they don’t overcome low roofs and high beltlines.
We would also feel different if the CTS V Sport didn’t cost so much. Which, in a way, it doesn’t. Cadillac’s Canadian pricing means the CTS V Sport costs $23,600 more than the basic CTS, but there's a $4000 discount currently applied to the V Sport.
That's a start. Setting style aside, a lowering of the beltline would be helpful if I'm to make my case, too.
