Everyone knows that Elvis never actually left this world. Agent K explained it all clearly: the King went back home, to his home planet. It's curious whether he's watching from there the changes in America? And his beloved car too. Seven years have passed since the CTS sedan concept was presented at Pebble Beach, and by a strange coincidence, the familiar image of Cadillac collapsed simultaneously with the Twin Towers. The dust settled — and before us stood a new country. And with it, its revolutionary Cadillac. Back then, the CTS was a weapon of good, helping to reboot the Matrix. But out of 326,776 units produced since 2002, only 372 found their owners in Russia — so it turns out Russian buyers didn't see the CTS through the haze of special effects.
The current CTS — while costing no more than its predecessor — is itself a special effect. A sedan-gadget. A Transformer with a villainous character. You'd expect it to split along sharp edges, reconfigure, rear up, and growl with a synthesized bass. Beware, men in black, Agents J and K — you were wrong to trade an American car for a Mercedes E-Class!
It was precisely for hunting the German business class that the CTS was created, and if time remains, then also Jaguar, Volvo, Lexus, and Infiniti. The Caddy must cut them with sharp edges, blind them with chrome. But you can't defeat enemies with design alone. A new level of quality — that's the main trump card of the "American." The interior stuns at first glance — anyone who remembers the old CTS is guaranteed culture shock. Colorful. Even caloric — pompous, rich. And generally comfortable: for a European, mastering a Cadillac is a piece of cake. You never stumble over the controls. A bit cramped, though: after the old Fleetwood or Eldorado, Elvis would be having a claustrophobia attack here. But I feel cozy — isn't this special feeling what German competitors lack?
- The CTS is equipped with keyless access, but to lock the car, you'll have to take the key out of your pocket. Also surprising is the ringing buzz of the electromechanical door locks.
- The speedometer readings are duplicated on a digital display — you can also output a lot of useful and not-so-useful information there. You select the needed data, getting tangled in the buttons to the left of the steering wheel.
- The individual remotes for the dual-zone climate control are located on the central console's bulges turned toward the occupants. A debatable decision from the standpoint of classic ergonomics rules — but quite convenient in everyday use.
- For an extra 105,000 rubles, the car is equipped with a Bose 5.1 Cabin Surround Sound audio system, TV tuner, DVD player, and a retractable touchscreen. The panoramic sunroof is also an option for 65,500 rubles.
But why does the stylish transponder key treacherously crunch in your hands first? The leather-covered panels in the cabin also creak and crunch — both under your hands and on their own while driving. In the plastic interior of the predecessor, this crackling was taken for granted, but here it causes bewilderment. This particular unit is special, they warned us, made in America. Oh yes — Cadillacs for Russia are assembled using screwdriver technology in Kaliningrad! Trying to compliment the car, GM folks swear: our CTS sedans are no different from American ones in dynamics, equipment, or quality. We felt the interior of a Kaliningrad Cadillac: they're not lying — the quality is the same...
Only at night does the interior with its soft and mysterious bluish backlighting look worth its money. Outside, the CTS is also especially striking in the dark: the skyscrapers of the taillights and the flashes of the narrow stop light hypnotize those around.
- The front seats have heating and ventilation. There's also lumbar support with electric adjustment. You quickly find the right and comfortable driving position. But why the sharp-edged badges on the backrests? A loop on your favorite sweater can ruin your mood.
- The high tunnel and the shape of the rear cushion effectively make the CTS a four-seater. Even people of average height in the back press their heads against the ceiling.
- The trunk is not wide, but long. And if needed, you can fold the seatback in parts. Under the floor is a niche with a space-saver spare.
The interior is still head and shoulders better than it was. And what did the new months at the Nürburgring give the Cadillac? Elvis's spirit flies there only once a year, for the Rock am Ring festival, so the rest of the time, pilots who died on the Nordschleife looked after the Cadillac. They were quite surprised to see the first Cadillac there a few years ago, and now it's a common thing. True, the new CTS is built on the same platform as its predecessor, and the progress in driving qualities is not as striking as the metamorphosis of the interior. The Caddy has become stiffer, inexorably moving away from the Cadillac archetype. Smoothness remains only in the operation of the "automatic." And even then only in traffic jams. As soon as you break free from the clogged labyrinth, the gearbox starts to dart nervously between gears.
- Eyes in "techno" style. As the soul, so the mirror.
- The height of the robot-dwarf with a raised hand is only 12 cm. Although the aerodynamic "skirt" is rubber.
- The CTS is generously decorated with emblems and badges. The designers seemed to fear that it would be hard to recognize a Cadillac in the sharp-angled, low-slung car.
The CTS takes the road to heart: nervously tracks ruts, twitching the steering wheel, rocking on asphalt waves. Tolerably enduring serious impacts, it bounces and shifts its rear on small bumps, shaking its whole body, causing the steering wheel to buzz unpleasantly in your hands. But this is a drawback of American origin: our Cadillac has the so-called FE2 sport suspension with gas-filled shock absorbers and stiff springs. Russian rear-wheel-drive cars with the 3.6 engine have different settings.
Our CTS is generally the meanest: with a 3.6 V6 engine producing 307 hp and rear-wheel drive. There's also a version with the old 210-horsepower "six" and an all-wheel-drive CTS 3.6 with a BorgWarner transfer case. But the latter is heavier and duller. And ours is spirited! The previous CTS gave true pleasure only when driving sideways, but this one responds with a drift only to outright recklessness. It clings to the surface fanatically. Exceed the traction limit — it understeers. And when the rear starts to dance, the stability control wakes up, reins in the heavy car, and the Cadillac again digs into the road.
And all this to the bear-like roar of the engine, which, it seems, will never get boring. Its voice lacks the distinct diesel rattle typical of most direct-injection engines — a warm, rolling, purely American timbre. Behind the hesitation with which the CTS responds to the accelerator, you hear in this distinctive, unconventional car... a Cadillac.
This Cadillac is my contemporary. Its reflection is as fitting in Moscow shop windows as in the rearview mirrors of "Beemers" at the Nordschleife. I listen to the exhaust burble, humming along to Dire Straits — their music has never seemed so outdated. But the lyrics of "Calling Elvis" are damn relevant — the King won't pick up the phone anymore!
The new CTS is built on a refined Sigma platform, familiar from the previous generation, as well as the STS and SRX models. To improve stability, engineers increased the track width by 50 mm. In addition, rear-wheel-drive versions with a lightweight aluminum front subframe achieved an almost perfect 50:50 weight distribution.
There are three suspension options in total. The softest FE1 package is not supplied to Russia. The test car had the FE2 sport suspension with gas-filled shock absorbers, as on American versions. However, all Russian rear-wheel-drive sedans with the 3.6 engine are equipped with the stiffer FE3 package with Nivomat rear shock absorbers. The version with the 2.8 engine on rear-wheel drive and the all-wheel-drive 3.6 on our market make do with the FE2 suspension.
In all-wheel-drive modifications, the electromagnetic clutch, depending on the situation, can distribute torque in a 30:70 ratio in favor of the rear wheels or lock completely.
The Cadillac CTS became the first model to receive the new V6 3.6 VVT engine with direct injection. Now this unit is also offered for the flagship STS sedan.
By the end of 2009, a "charged" version of the CTS-V may appear on the Russian market. This Cadillac has already made its mark as the fastest sedan at the Nürburgring, posting a lap time of 7:59.32.
Specifications
| Specifications | Cadillac CTS 3.6 |
|---|---|
| Body | |
| Number of doors/seats | 4/5 |
| Length, mm | 4860 |
| Width, mm | 1842 |
| Height, mm | 1464 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2880 |
| Track front/rear, mm | 1569/1575 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1798 |
| Gross weight, kg | 2360 |
| Trunk volume, l | 373 |
| Engine | |
| Type | petrol |
| Location | front, longitudinal |
| Number and arrangement of cylinders | 6, V-shaped |
| Number of valves | 24 |
| Displacement, cm3 | 3564 |
| Max power, hp/rpm | 307/6400 |
| Max torque, N•m/rpm | 369/5200 |
| Transmission | |
| Gearbox | automatic, 6-speed |
| Drive | rear |
| Chassis | |
| Front suspension | independent, spring, double wishbone |
| Rear suspension | independent, spring, multi-link |
| Front brakes | disc, ventilated |
| Rear brakes | disc, ventilated |
| Ground clearance, mm | 150 |
| Performance characteristics | |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 241 |
| Acceleration time 0–100 km/h, s | 6.3 |
| Fuel consumption, l/100 km | |
| — urban cycle | 16.6 |
| — suburban cycle | 7.9 |
| — combined cycle | 11.1 |
| Toxicity standard | n/a |
| Fuel tank capacity, l | 68 |
| Fuel | AI-92-95 |
- ABS
- Stabilitrak dynamic stability system
- Front airbags
- Side airbags for driver and front passenger
- Inflatable curtains
- Adaptive bi-xenon headlights with washer
- Fog lights
- Front seats with power adjustment, height and lumbar support
- Steering column adjustment for height and reach
- Memory for driver's seat positions
- Heated front seats
- Power-adjustable and heated exterior mirrors
- Dual-zone climate control
- Rain sensor
- On-board computer
- Cruise control
- Leather upholstery
- Bose audio system with MP3 support
- CD changer
- Parking sensors
- Keyless entry system
- Alloy wheels R18
- Compact spare wheel (donut)
- Anti-theft system
- Luxury 2 package
- Heated and ventilated front seats
- Power steering column
- Keyless engine start function
- UltraView panoramic sunroof with power drive
