The ride and handling were impeccable; smooth, steady, predictable. Solid, but not heavy. Precise, with just the right amount of resistance from the speed-sensitive power steering. The CTS suspension was developed on Germany's legendary Nurburgring circuit, because that's where the German sports sedans are developed, and Cadillac was eager to challenge them on their terms. It shows in the car. The ride is very comfortable, erasing the bumps; and still the suspension is there when you need it in the rippling twisty curves. The front suspension was sometimes noisy on our beautiful hard Sunday drive, but the overall noise level in the cabin was low.
We pushed it to the point where StabiliTrak began to make brake and throttle corrections to keep the car on the road. It was the correct point, not too early like some others, particularly some Mercedes-Benz models. We gave the ABS with brake proportioning a good test, and it passed with flying colors. We slammed to a stop from 70 miles an hour with our hands off the steering wheel, with zero drama: no squealing, no swerving.
Our biggest regret with the CTS is that the automatic transmission doesn't have a manual mode. It shifted down and up a lot, especially at a casual pace. But with Sport mode engaged, the transmission takes on a new attitude, sharp and decisive. Enthusiast drivers might want to wait for the six-speed Getrag gearbox.
As for the Corvette-powered CTS-V, we can think of worse ways to spend 50 grand. Cadillac didn't use its own great Northstar V8 with double overhead cams (as it does in the SRX sport-utility) because it couldn't quite fit under the CTS hood. Cadillac claims acceleration from 0 to 60 in a mere 4.6 seconds. Next Page