Car Reviews 2005 Cadillac Cts
"Okay that's it.....I've had it with this guy!" "Either he's going to buy this CTS, or he's going to get the heck off the lot". If selling cars is mostly "Show and Tell".....this guy got the 'Tell' yesterday. Today he's going to get the 'Show' because I'm about to take him on the "Car Review from Hell".
This was the second time this guy had come around here to look at the 2005 Cadillac CTS. He was driving an '02 Mazda Millenia, so I knew he had rather unique tastes. Yesterday, he pawed over the interior while I showed him the features, the seating, fit and finish. He inspected the trunk, engine compartment, and studied the design from several different angles. He also left a lot of sticky fingerprints all over the car's shiny black paint.
Maybe he couldn't quite get a handle on the car's design yesterday, so he's back today for another look. I'll admit, the CTS is a design that is kind of hard to figure. The car is crisp and angular, but it has lines that seem to start at one end and go nowhere. The CTS looks tall and narrow. And it looks like it's confused between whether to be a big comfortable Caddy, or an overgrown compact.
Well, if this guy can't make up his mind by more looking, maybe he needs to see what this car can do. With that thought in mind, I went and got the keys. Before I stepped out of the dealership into the bright Carolina sun, I adjusted my ball cap and slipped on my Foster Grants. I pushed the door open and headed out to the car. I mumbled to myself, "No more Mr. Nice guy." Today, I fully intended to break all the rules to get this guy to buy this car.
When I got to the car, this guy was on the passenger side on his knees looking under the car checking out the suspension; I suppose. So, if he's a real 'car guy', he's seen the double wishbone suspension arms, 11.9 inch Brembo styled vented discs and the thick anti-roll bar that highlight the front. A glance toward the rear would reveal a multi-link rear suspension with a tuned roll bar and 11.7 inch vented discs. He also would have noticed that the engine sits the 'right way' in the chassis and drives the rear wheels like it should in a real performance sedan. The weight is split 53/47 front to rear and all this rides on P225/50R 17 inch Goodyear Eagle RS-A tires mounted on 17 x 7.5 inch aluminum wheels.
This car isn't a bunch of parts just stuck on fresh out of the parts bin....no way. This combination has been thoroughly tuned and tested by GM Performance Division's racing geeks on the infamous Nurburg Ring in Germany. That means this car will actually perform on the back roads and streets on America.
"Get in"....I guess I scared him since he still had his head under the car, so I repeated myself, "Get in". I opened the passenger door and once he was inside, I helped him with his seat belt. "Get it good and tight, I said, I don't want you flopping around in here while I'm driving."
I walked around to the driver's side, got in and started the engine. The 3.6 liter V-6, 255 horse, dual overhead cam, 4 valve per cylinder,VVT, all aluminum powerplant sprung to life quickly with a hint of a nice exhaust rumble. The beauty of VVT (Variable Valve Timing) is the torque curve is broad and spacious and this engine puts out 255 ft/lbs. of usable twist at 3200 rpm. This isn't the standard anemic 3.2 V-6 that has powered the car since its introcuction in 2002. "This engine hauls the freight, baby".
Well, enough sweet talk....it's time to get 'jiggy' with it. I pulled the console mounted shifter into drive and eased out of the parking slot. I slowly trolled pass the showroom and turned the car toward the four lane divided highway that carried traffic into town. My passenger probably didn't know what to expect, but to me...."It's Show Time".
I stopped momentarily at the entrance of the highway and looked left to check the traffic. Nothing was coming.....except a big dump truck hauling 20 tons of gravel at 60 mph. I quickly cranked the wheel to the right and pushed the go pedal to the floor. While the car accelerated, I picked up an audible verbal count for the benefit of my passenger...."one thousand-three....one thousand-four....one thousand-five....one thousand-six....one thousand." I looked down at the speedometer as it just passed 60 mph and the dump truck behind me started to fade in the distance.
That little demonstration took 6.6 seconds, not bad for a car with only a V-6. I kept the pedal down until the 5 speed automatic shifted into top gear. It would take 14.9 seconds to go a quarter mile. This transmission shifted firmly and quickly. Interestingly, this transmission is the same one BMW has chosen to use in some of its cars. Its drive characteristics are impeccable. The engines power delivery was smooth and linear. Performance is on par with the other market offerings in the CTS' price range. Actually, this car's acceleration would match up favorably with an early eighties Corvette.
I glanced over at my passenger to monitor his reaction. If he had been a little drowsy, he was awake now. This guy was a chopper pilot in Desert Storm in Iraq, so I figured at one time he know alot about speed. My guess is that he's got nerves of steel, but let's just see if I'm right. Enough of this going in a straight line, I was going to turn off on 'Snake road' and show him what this tuned suspension in the CTS can really do.
When I saw my road coming up on the right, I intentionally waited until the last 150 feet to brake the CTS down from 60 mph. When I reached my braking point, I lifted my foot off the gas and with firm hard pressure on the brake pedal, I put the ABS system into a full panic test. The CTS hauled down from 60 mph straight and true in around 125 feet. "Nice brakes...eh?" My passenger nodded in the affirmative.
I turned onto the aptly named, "Snake Road" and accelerated hard toward the first turn. The trees were all starting to change to their fall colors and the asphalt was smooth and black from a recent repaving. The sign posted for the first turn said '35 mph'.....I lightly touched the brake on entry and accelerated past the apex going 60 mph. The Goodyears gripped the road with a slight audible howl. I would have preferred to have bigger 245/45R 17's tires with 9 inch wide wheels on the car to get some added grip, but just that's me.
The CTS had a little more roll than I liked, but it wasn't enough to shake driver confidence. I pressed on toward the next set of left-right turns which I raced through with similar zeal. The transitional handling was excellent for a car weighting in at over 3600 lbs. and the steering was precise. This CTS was equipped with Cadillac's 'Stabilitrak' dynamic stability control system which helped keep the car going where it was pointed without drama.
The CTS only needs to burn regular unleaded gas and will average 18 city and 28 highway according to the EPA's bean counters. That should really save a little money at the pumpand would be consided to be good mileage for a car with this level of performance.
This was a 'hands-on performance car review, we didn't care that much about the Navigation system, the 6 CD changer, XM radio and the other 'bells and whistles' on the car. That stuff is a another story in itself. Let's just say that the fit and finish was good and the ten-way power seats with memory, thigh, lumbar and side supports was excellent.
Snake Road is a six mile handling test that winds its way around the countryside until it intersects with the main traffic artery that leads back to the dealership. "So, do you want to drive it back to the dealership?" I was curious to see if this guy was what I thought he was....a 'real die heart car guy' or just a whimp. "Yeah, I'll take it", was his response without a moments hesitation. I stopped the car and turned it around for the trip back. We changed positions; he got into the driver's seat and I got into the passenger seat. As I put my seat belt on, he turned to me and said, "You'd better tighten that thing down good, I don't want you flopping around in here while I'm trying to get you back to the dealership in my CTS.
The 2005 Cadillac CTS is better explained by driving it....It may take a little more time to fully explain the styling.
