Driving Impressions

With either of its V6 engines, the Cadillac CTS drives wonderfully around town, no muss, and no fuss. It cruises comfortably on the freeway and feels right at home on winding roads. It's this mix of comfort, easy functionality and the heart for a spirited drive that defines a sports sedan, and the CTS delivers in spades. The 3.6-liter V6 is silky smooth when cruising, less so at full throttle. It responds quickly whenever you step on the gas, a benefit of its broad torque curve, which is largely a function of variable valve timing. Both V6s are thoroughly modern engines, with 60-degree aluminum blocks, double overhead cams, electronic throttle control, coils-on-plug ignition and a structural oil pan. The 2.8-liter and 3.6-liter V6s earn the same EPA-estimated mileage ratings of 18/27 mpg City/Highway. Both run on regular 87 octane, and choosing between them is a matter of power versus cost. We prefer the bigger 3.6-liter hands down, but speed costs money, and we enjoy driving the CTS with the smaller V6. We can highly recommend both the automatic and manual transmissions, so choosing between them is a matter of preference, or the amount of heavy stop-and-go driving on your daily commute. The five-speed automatic is superb. In normal mode, it seems to shift a lot, especially at a casual pace. Selecting the Sport mode changes the transmission's attitude, giving it sharper, more decisive responses. For 2006, the automatic features Cadillac's Driver Shift Control with both V6 engines. With it a driver can manually shift the automatic, clicking sequentially up and down. The manual mode is particularly responsive, and the five-speed automatic is an excellent choice for the CTS. It even gets better gas mileage around town than the manual. The manual gearbox is first-rate, too, and if you put more emphasis on the sport than the sedan, you may prefer it. You can shift it so smoothly that your passengers wouldn't know it was a manual if they couldn't see you shifting. It's easy to match clutch take-up and throttle for stutter-free driving, especially at low speeds. The shifter is equally smooth, with short, precise throws. You can run up through fourth gear at low speeds without lugging the engine. The smoothness of shifting and the low-speed tractability of the engine make driving around town very pleasant. Ride and handling are impeccable: smooth, steady, predictable. The CTS feels solid, but not heavy. Steering is precise, with just the right amount of resistance from the speed-sensitive power assist. Cadillac tuned the suspension at Germany's legendary Nurburgring circuit, because that's where German sports sedans are developed, and Cadillac was eager to challenge them on their terms. It shows. The suspension is nicely damped so the ride is very comfortable, erasing the bumps. Still, the suspension is there when you need it in rippling, twisty curves. In short, the CTS is fun to drive. Mix rear-wheel drive, crisp handling and plenty of horsepower, and you have a recipe for charging out of corners like a racer. Go into a corner too quick and the StabiliTrak electronic stability control is there to reduce the chance of a skid, applying just the right amount of brake and throttle correction to keep the CTS on the road. The anti-lock brakes deliver powerful, predictable braking. Slam on the brakes at 70 miles an hour and there's no drama: no squealing, no swerving, just forceful stopping with full steering control. The CTS-V has some of the same characteristics of the CTS, but make no mistake. This is a different animal, sacrificing pleasantries to achieve increased performance. For starters, the CTS-V comes exclusively with the high-performance Tremec T56 six-speed, and it's a stiff shifter. It also takes more pressure to push in the clutch pedal, and clutch take-up is fairly abrupt, making smooth launches a challenge. Your passengers will been keenly aware that you are shifting

Final Word

The Cadillac CTS delivers all the elements required of a good sports sedan, including rear-wheel drive, strong power, a first-rate automatic transmission with manual shift capability (or an excellent six-speed manual), and a superb ride-handling balance. Its styling is distinctive and its image is still fresh. This is the first smaller American luxury sedan in a long time that can play in the same league as BMW, Audi, Mercedes and Infiniti. For its part, the CTS-V can rip up chunks of poorly laid asphalt with its rear tires. It more than holds its own with the specialty cars from BMW's M division or AMG Mercedes. Reporting from Los Angeles is NewCarTestDrive.com editor Mitch McCullough, with Jeffrey P. Vettraino in Detroit.