With every new model, Cadillac
indeed gets closer and closer to actually performing at the top of its
class, rivaling those crafty Germans at their own sport/luxury sedan
game. The best example yet of Cadillac's efforts to challenge the world
came last year, when we met the 2013 ATS – a vehicle that we praised for its on-road dynamics and interior refinement, and later went on to be named North American Car of the Year.
Now comes the 2014 CTS,
an all-new sedan that aims to improve upon everything Cadillac learned
from the ATS project, making its official debut this week at the 2013 New York Auto Show.
We've already had the chance to check out the car in person, and
everything seems to be a bit sharper with this new CTS, and we aren't
just talking about the bold front end. The powertrain lineup has
expanded to three engine offerings, including an all-new twin-turbo V6;
the interior materials are some of the best we've seen and felt on a
Cadillac ever, and the engineering team's effort to make this CTS
longer, lower and leaner will no doubt pay off once it hits the road.
If ever there were a Cadillac to truly rival the world's best, this could be it.
Take one look at Cadillac's new baby and you'll notice that there are elements of the Ciel concept
in the CTS' design (look closely at those headlamps, lower air intakes
and large, prominent grille), and to say this new sedan is a
great-looking car is an understatement. Up front, you can really see the
designers' attention to detail with little things like the rakish
headlamp clusters that extend far back along the front quarter panel,
the many curves and character lines that start in the front fascia and
sweep far back into the rear deck, and the sharp LED accents at the
front and rear. Cadillac says it absolutely wants to own vertical LED
technology, and the 2014 CTS is just another iteration of how this
lighting element can be used as part of an overall modern design.
Honestly, we're surprised at just how low this sedan's hood sits, but
Cadillac assures us that the design does, in fact, meet pedestrian crash
standards in all of the markets in which it will be sold. And while
things are indeed bold and heavily sculpted at the front, this doesn't
exactly carry over to the car's rear. In fact, from the rear
three-quarter angle, the large overhang behind those hind wheels looks a
little long – we feel this way about the XTS,
too (even more so, truthfully). But because the car sits lower to the
ground and the roof height has been reduced, it's not a total
deal-breaker. The overall styling is good, and the CTS' rump is indeed
elegant, with its better integration of the third brake light and LED
taillamps. It just isn't quite as menacing as that face.
Compared to the outgoing CTS, the new model is 4.2 inches longer (riding
on a 1.2-inch longer wheelbase) and nearly an inch shorter in overall
height, though the 2014 model is actually narrower by three-tenths of an
inch, a subtle nod to General Motors' intent to sell this car in
narrow-streeted markets. Cadillac worked to save weight wherever
possible with the new CTS, and thus, lots of aluminum bits are used
outside, most notably on the doors, bumpers and in many other exterior
components. All in, the new CTS (in base form) weighs in at 3,616 pounds
– 244 pounds lighter than the current 3.0-liter base model and roughly
200 pounds lighter than a similarly equipped BMW 528i sedan.
On the powertrain front, we already told you about the brand-new twin-turbocharged 3.6-liter V6
that will make its debut in the 2014 CTS, pumping out 420 horsepower
and 430 pound-feet of torque through a new eight-speed automatic
transmission. This powerful six will also be offered in the 2014 XTS
flagship (mated to a six-speed transmission in that application), and
while Cadillac has not yet confirmed any other plans for the LF3 V6,
we'd be a little shocked if a variant didn't work its way under the hood
of the forthcoming ATS-V.
Rounding out the CTS' engine range is a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline
four-cylinder for the base car producing 272 horsepower and 295
pound-feet of torque, and a naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6 rated at
321 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque. The 3.6-liter engine can
also be paired with the new eight-speed automatic from the twin-turbo
powerplant, while the 2.0T uses a six-speed automatic. A manual
transmission isn't offered with any engine, and Cadillac says it isn't
investigating the use of dual-clutch transmissions in the CTS at this
time.
On the fuel economy front, official EPA numbers haven't been released as
of this writing, but Cadillac estimates that the base, rear-wheel-drive
CTS 2.0T will achieve 19 miles per gallon city and 30 mpg highway.
(Adding all-wheel drive to the equation should reduce the numbers to 18
and 28, respectively.) For the naturally aspirated 3.6-liter V6,
Cadillac estimates 19/28 mpg city/highway with rear-wheel drive and
18/27 mpg with AWD. On the top end, the twin-turbo V6, which is only
available with RWD, is estimated to net a still respectable 17 mpg city
and 25 mpg highway.
Cadillac engineers have built upon the strength of the chassis
engineering found in the ATS for this new model, and for the first time,
the company's Magnetic Ride Control real-time damping system will be
available on non-V-badged cars equipped with 18- or 19-inch wheels (17s
are standard).
For the first time, Cadillac will also offer a Vsport version of the CTS – sort of like what BMW
does with its M Sport cars. This highest-performance CTS (until the
legit CTS-V shows up) uses the twin-turbo V6, eight-speed automatic and
model-specific features like aluminum 18-inch wheels with Pirelli summer
tires, a quicker steering ratio, Brembo disc brakes, a heavy-duty track
cooling package, an electronic limited-slip differential and a
driver-selectable track mode.
Cadillac engineers have told us that the new CTS will have the "most
agile driving dynamics in its class" while still being an immensely safe
vehicle, as well. The latest suite of technological safety goodies have
been fitted to the CTS, including adaptive cruise control, panic brake
assist, forward collision alert, collision preparation with brake
prefill, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, a rear-view
camera with cross-traffic alert, OnStar and so on.
Inside the CTS, a stronger focus has been put on high-quality materials
and better fit-and-finish, both an area of complaint we've always had
about the outgoing model. A total of eight "interior environments" will
be offered, with leather hues ranging from black to tan to brown to blue
(yes, blue), with just as many contrast colors available. As for trim
pieces, real wood, carbon fiber and aluminum will be available, and
Cadillac says that these pieces can be switched out at the dealership
depending on a customer's individual taste. It all looks very good,
though the interior isn't a dramatic departure from what we've seen in
the ATS and XTS.
Cadillac's full suite of love/hate CUE
infotainment functions will be available in the CTS, including the
reconfigurable 12-inch LCD gauge cluster that wowed us in the larger
XTS. In addition to that tech, material upgrades like Alcantara are
available, as are optional goodies like a panoramic sunroof, rear
sunshades, tri-zone climate control, unique ambient lighting and a
20-way power adjustable driver's seat.
Pricing has not been announced as of this writing, though we expect to
have that information closer to the car's on-sale date later in 2013.
Production of the 2014 CTS will begin this fall at GM's plant in
Lansing, Michigan.
All in, we're impressed by what we've seen with the new CTS. Cadillac is
indeed accelerating forward with each new car it produces, and this
third-generation CTS looks to be the brand's best offering yet. Of
course, we'll reserve final judgments until we get the car out on the
road, but things look very, very promising.
Oh – and this goes without saying – but based on everything detailed here, we simply cannot wait for the next CTS-V.
Courtesy of Auto Blog
