Test Drive: Caddy hits a hole in one with CTS

— -- 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.

There's one practical advantage: The careful shaping allows an indentation for functional air vents in the fenders, bleeding hot air from the engine compartment. You see a lot of phony, stick-on fender vents nowadays, but CTS' have integrity.

Inside, more fussiness in pursuit of a high-end ambiance. Cut and sew, it's called. It means that the dashboard, door panels and center console are not simply formed plastic, nor faced with glued-on leather. Instead, the leather pieces have been cut, sewn together by hand, then fitted individually over the panels.

Nice touch. Wonder how many people will either notice or care, though. Might be one of the exasperating examples of unrewarded excellence.

The high-end, $48,000 test car provided not only satisfying performance but also endearing casualness. A car that seemed comfortable — and made you feel so — whether running hard or taking it easy.

Of note:

• Comfort: Plentiful in front and back. Room to sprawl despite the car's trim overall dimensions.

Rear riders have good toe and knee room because the thoughtful design of the front seats opens space. But the long of leg or fat of foot will get their toes tangled retracting them from under the front seat and swiveling them out past the pillar between the front and back doors.

•Handling: The awd test car bobbed a bit much on undulating pavement and leaned more than anticipated in modest corners, surprising because it was equipped with a sport suspension. But wind the CTS into a tight S corner and its agility bloomed. Easy to stay in your narrow lane at brisk cornering speed. Easy to ride the edge of the pavement or place the car where on the road you thought it should be.

CTS, by Caddy's reckoning, is 200 to 500 pounds heavier than rivals. That's enough to explain the clumsier behavior at lower speed. Didn't seem to hurt going faster.

•Brakes: Unfortunately that's one place Cadillac didn't ape Audi. The German maker's brakes are a gnat's eyelash shy of touchy. And, once learned, they are terrific. Others feel slovenly.

Still, the feel of the test car's brakes was well within the acceptable range; fairly firm and lacking the sponginess that bedevils some luxury cars.

•Steering: Almost too good. Be sure you mean it when you move your hand. The feel is firm, not light and skittish, so you won't accidentally jiggle yourself across the center line. But neither is it a car for the over-caffeinated. Skip CTS if you like lots of power assist.

•Amenities: There's no backup camera, only a beep alarm, and no rear-seat video. Disappointing. Likely to be added, Caddy says, but won't give an ETA.

Like many other GM vehicles, there's no head restraint in the middle of the rear, a potential safety issue for the middle rear rider.

The optional hard drive is available with or without the navigation system. It will record from the radio, as TiVo-like devices do from television, storing up to an hour's worth of programming so you can pick up where you left off.

The system will record an entire CD in less time than it takes to play a single song. Then you can eject that CD, pop in a new one and record it while listening to the CD you just recorded. Or anything else.

Recording isn't a Caddy exclusive. In fact you can get it on modest-price Mitsubishi and Chrysler models. The CTS system seemed more inviting and handier, though.

There's a USB port to play or download tunes from a flash drive or memory stick, and a special connection for iPods so you can control all their functions from the car stereo and charge their batteries.

Navigation included traffic alerts. Startling when out of the blue a voice said, "In two miles there's a traffic jam." It was right; there was.

A diet to shed a few hundred pounds would enliven the car's acceleration and no doubt make the CTS feel more responsive overall. And anybody with kids knows how valuable a rear-seat DVD player is, though the kid-laden might be unlikely CTS buyers in the first place. And put in a middle head restraint, for goodness sakes.

Irritants aside, CTS gets under your skin, luring you into driving it instead of whatever else is in the driveway.

2008 Cadillac CTS

•What is it? Re-do of the smallest Cadillac sedan, hoping to make it what Caddy calls the "perceptual quality halo" for the brand. Midsize, four-door sedan. Available with conventional or direct-injection V-6 engine, manual or automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive (rwd) or all-wheel drive (awd). Manufactured at Lansing, Mich.

•How soon? On sale since late August.

Super high-performance V-8 CTS-V is due next year.

•How much? Base engine, manual transmission, rwd, starts at $32,990 including $745 destination charge.

Optional engine, automatic, rwd starts at $35,290. With manual, only now becoming available, it starts $1,300 less than that, but requires wheel packages that range from $1,240 to $2,980.

Awd, available only with automatic transmission, is $1,900.

Test car, well-equipped awd model with optional engine, was $48,585.

•How many? Caddy won't say directly, but expects to outsell the 4,600 per month the previous CTS averaged last year.

•What's the drivetrain? Base engine is the one that was optional in previous CTS: 3.6-liter V-6 rated 263 horsepower at 6,200 rpm, 253 pounds-feet of torque at 3,100 rpm.

Optional: 3.6-liter direct-injection V-6 rated 304 hp at 6,300 rpm, 273 lbs.-ft. at 5,200 rpm.

Six-speed manual or six-speed automatic with manual-shift mode is available with either engine. Caddy just began shipping manuals to dealers a week ago, and doesn't plan to build many because it expects fewer than 10% of buyers to choose manuals.

Optional awd normally sends 25% of power front, can send 100% to either end.

•What's the safety gear? Front- and side-impact airbags in front, head-curtain bags front and rear, anti-lock brakes, stability control.

•What's the rest? Climate control, AM/FM/XM/CD/MP3-compatible with auxiliary plug; power steering, brakes, windows, doors, seats, locks, mirrors; cruise control; remote-control locks; tilt-adjustable and telescoping steering column; OnStar telecommunications service with one year free service; XM satellite radio with three months free service.

Other features, options vary by model. Details: www.cadillac.com.

•How big? Bigger than a BMW 3 Series or Infiniti G35 sedan, a little smaller than a BMW 5 Series. CTS is 191.6 inches long, 72.5 inches wide, 58 inches tall on 113.4-inch wheelbase. Weight ranges from 3,845 to 4,118 pounds, depending on model and equipment.

Passenger space is listed as 98 cubic feet. Trunk is 13.6 cubic feet.

Turning circle diameter is 35 feet, (rwd) or 36 feet (awd).

•How thirsty? All rwd models are rated 17 miles per gallon in town, 26 on the highway, 20 in combined driving. All awd models are 17/25/20.

Trip computer in awd test car with optional direct injection V-6 showed 17.2 mpg in 265 miles of combined driving.

Tank holds 18 gallons. Regular-grade (87-octane) gasoline is specified.

•Overall:Dandy piece of work. Put it on the short list.