2005 Cadillac CTS-V Test Drive

Cadillac builds one for BMW buyers- -and this time they're going to love it

Can America build a world-class sports sedan? You betcha. The Cadillac CTS-V (V for Velocity) is proof positive of that. Under its Clark Kent exterior beats the heart (and many of the mechanicals) of an LS6 Corvette. Look out Bavaria, the Cadillac CTS-V wants to eat your BMW M5's lunch (and maybe your AMG 55's supper too). Since it's not inexpensive, the CTS-V will best suit the younger performance car enthusiast who's, um, rich. MSRP:$49,995; Warranty: 4 yrs/50,000 miles.

First Glance

With the CTS-V, the General has taken dead aim at the high performance versions of the BMW 5-series (the M5) and the Mercedes Benz/AMG C-class. It intends not only to beat them on the track but to do so at a price point the imports can't touch. The CTS-V closely resembles its significantly less expensive older sister the CTS, which is being low-balled in some markets with a 2.8L, 210hp V-6. The CTS-V, on the other hand, comes with a 5.7L, SFI aluminum V-8 pumping out 400 stompin' horses and 375 lb-ft of asphalt-buckling torque. It's the same engine used in the LS6 Corvette. It nestles very cozily in the CTS-V's race-winning Sigma chassis. The CTS was one of the style hits of the 2002 Paris Auto Show. Crowds swarmed around it. I find the extra wide stance set off by the 7-spoke aluminum 18 inch wheels and fat WR-rated P245/45 tires positioned way out at the corners particularly pleases my eye. The CTS-V comes standard with performance aids like a Tremec T56 6-speed manual transmission, Stabiltrak with four driver-selectable operation modes and a Getrag limited slip diff. It's also loaded to the gunwales with all kinds of luxo-goodies like GM On-Star and what may be the best sound system available in any automobile sold anywhere.

In the Driver's Seat

Forward visibility is superb. Regrettably, the smooth leather-trimmed seats will not keep you in place if you let the CTS-V have its head in the corners. In the event the poop hits the rotary cooling device and neither the electronic stability control nor the monster Brembo 4-rotor brakes can keep you straight and level, you've got six airbags to save your butt. The dash is a very unCaddy-like mat black with no extraneous information panels. It's Cadillac's attempt to look German and it works. On the other hand, the CTS-V's steering wheel is a control-freak's dream. It has almost as many switches and buttons (many hidden) as Michael Shumacher's custom-made Momo F1 model. Guide Emeritus Philip Powell didn't appreciate the tiny rear doors. He said grown-ups will have difficulty climbing in and out of the rear seat. (He says that about everything these days). Once back there, though, even six footers will have ample leg, shoulder and headroom. Exceptionally large people are best advised to look elsewhere in the Cadillac line-up. While the CTS-V has more badging than the regular CTS (and certainly more than any comparable Bavarian sedan) there's probably not so much as to offend the slippery BMW-buyer Cadillac so wants to attract.

On the Road

The CTS-V might just be the automotive equivalent of the Marine Corps' C-130 gunship. It's capable of not just effortlessly exceeding any and all North American speed limits but of demolishing them--or, in the lexicon of the US Marine Corps, "pancaking" them. At extra-legal speeds, it seems to get over its Bilsteins like an Austrian downhiller on his Atomics. It feels very hunkered down, very stable. To be fair, BMW's M5 is by most measures more competent and re-assuring at very high speeds than the CTS-V. However, the M5's not at its best at everyday driving speeds. If the road surface is at all broken or uneven, you almost need one of those thick kidney belts you used to see on 60s-era bikers just to stop from peeing blood. The M5's performance suspension is that uncompromising. Not so the CTS-V's though. Even at 20 mph on rough city streets, its ride is smooth enough to allow you to sip your latte without spilling more than a drop or two. The CTS-V can, then, be a tractable, easy to control boulevardier when required. But once it puts on its game face, look out. It's can also be one very slick piece of machinery.

Journey's End

Sorry girls, but the CTS is not a lady’s car. [Editor's note: Robin, my fiancee, has asked Colin to come to Los Angeles and race her through Decker Canyon, then see if he wishes to reconsider that statement.] Nor is it your grandpa’s car. But if you’re a rich young or young-thinking guy who’s looking for something a bit different in a high performance sedan--preferably something that doesn't have its roots in Bavaria--the CTS-V might just be the car for you. It’s got an edgy, contemporary design that inspires both love and loathing in car enthusiasts. Personally, I love it. Sort of. At any rate, I like it at least as much as I like the design of the new BMWs. Maybe more. This is an automobile capable of competing with almost any production car either on the road or on the track. I’d even wager the CTS-V would look good beside the Bentleys and Maseratis in the ultra-reserved spaces in front of the Café de Paris in Monte Carlo. The Europeans will love it. I've found they love almost any consumer product with a "Made in USA" tag on it, except maybe the Ford Crown Victoria. Unfortunately they won't get more than a handful (of CTS-Vs not Crown Vics). Lucky dogs us, we'll get maybe two handsful.