Interior
reviewed by
Inside, the CTS is as different from the Catera as it is from the DeVille and Seville, with a much more European presentation of instrumentation and controls (after all, they are going to sell this car in Eastern and Western Europe, Japan, and the Middle East).
In fact, the CTS interior isn't like anything else on the market today. Done up in several high-tech textures (about two too many for our personal tastes), the dashboard and instrument panel are rendered in muted shades of gray with excellent, highly readable graphics.
The center stack, where most of the adjusting is done, juts out proudly and prominently from the rest of the dash, with the elaborate GPS navigation system, when ordered, at the top center location. Climate controls are at the bottom, controlled by amber-lighted pictograms like other Cadillacs. One year of GM's OnStar service comes with the car.
The steering wheel, with more and different types of redundant sound system, cruise control and other buttons mounted to it, looks like something out of a luxury jet fighter, and is deliciously leather-padded wood, with a big, thick rim that's wonderful to use.
The leather-upholstered seats, though they look pretty straightforward and planklike, are definitely not. Instead, they are very comfortable for all-day driving and there is plenty of side bolstering to hold your torso in place through the sharp corners. And Cadillac is happy to tell you that there is more room inside at CTS that there is inside some of its European competition. Although I am tall, in the 95th percentile in term of body type, I was very comfortable in both front seats of the CTS, and only slightly cramped in the rear seats when we tried them out.
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