Test Drive: Caddy hits a hole in one with CTS

ByABC News
October 11, 2007, 4:34 PM

— -- Assuming the high-end test car fairly represents the breed, you could say that Cadillac's remake of the CTS is a remarkably inviting sedan that doesn't impress you with bombast but with enthusiastic competence and extraordinary comfort.

CTS isn't the nerve-jangling rocket that's implied by the TV ads that ask: "When you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" But close enough, especially when equipped with the optional direct-injection V-6 engine.

Caddy says Audi was among its benchmarks, especially for the precise way Audi's body panels fit. CTS' panel gaps seem narrow and true.

But Audi appears to have held greater sway than just panel fit.

CTS' styling is very different from Audi's crisp and creased vs. the German automaker's rounded, flowing shapes. But the Cadillac has Audi-style wheel arches. And CTS' grille is as huge as Audi grilles are. Maybe not to your liking, but at least the Cadillac has a practical reason. Airflow to the engine goes through the grille, instead of through a wide fish-mouth slot below the bumper, as is common nowadays.

You can sense the Audi influence underneath, too. Audi is noted for its effective Quattro all-wheel drive, and CTS offers awd as well. The Cadillac system sends 25% of power to the front wheels normally, up to 100% to either end in demanding conditions. The optional CTS engine's direct injection is something Audi pioneered. Squirting the fuel directly into the cylinders instead of behind the intake valve improves fuel economy and power and reduces emissions. What it means in real life is that the 304-horsepower direct-injection V-6 gets the same fuel economy as the 263-hp base engine.

Despite Teutonic influences, CTS is inarguably American.

The suspension has a comfort factor you seldom find in tight German machines. Accessories are sensible and mostly easy to use, while those in most German brands are neither. And CTS even has whimsical touches, something hard to find on German cars.

For instance, just because Cadillac has long since abandoned tailfins doesn't mean it isn't keen to stand out. What Caddy calls "light pipes" are skinny, vertical lights inside the head- and taillight housings to provide a lighted border. You definitely can tell that's your Caddy the valet is bringing, not the next guy's luxmobile. Standard on all but the barest version, the light pipes are some of the jazz you expect on a Cadillac. If they prove reliable, great. If not, boo.

Another slick touch, probably more meaningful to the folks at Caddy than to you but impressive still, is the shape of each front fender. Deeper, crisper, more complex than usual, it initially was rejected as too tough to manufacture. But brainstorming led to a process that shapes the front fenders by passing them through the metal press five times instead of three that's typical.