Who wins? / Cadillac test drives

The story began with ordinary curiosity. To be honest, I didn't expect anything supernatural from an American car in terms of driving excitement. But the Cadillac CTS4 turned out to be a car that captivates not only with its design. It was this very "zest" that pushed me to a closer acquaintance. The rear-wheel-drive version had already been in our hands, and it made an impression: its behavior on the road is almost European, the steering responds clearly, body roll is moderate, acceleration is brisk, and the brakes are simply excellent. As it turned out, all these compliments are quite applicable to the all-wheel-drive CTS4 modification as well. Although theoretically it should have lost some of the thrill: the additional systems that redistribute traction added about a hundredweight to the mass.

Even with such an extra load, the CTS4 has not lost its agility. The claimed acceleration to 100 km/h is 6.7 seconds, which is 0.4 seconds faster than its rear-wheel-drive sibling. Quite acceptable! Due to the increased load on the front axle, the engineers had to stiffen the suspension, installing a thicker stabilizer bar at the front. It would seem that this should provoke understeer, but in everyday driving you don't notice anything of the sort. The most interesting thing about the CTS4 is, of course, the all-wheel drive, which the electronics manage deftly. The transmission layout is familiar — the same as on the STS4 or SRX. If necessary, up to 100% of the torque can be sent to either axle, but in standard mode the traction is split as follows: 75% to the rear wheels, 25% to the front. Hence, the car behaves like a classic rear-wheel-drive vehicle. This served as a reason for comparison with the purebred CTS, and at the same time became the cause of its further "torment" on the test site.

Remembering how easily the single-drive CTS broke into a drift, I wanted to repeat this trick on the CTS4. In essence, it was a duel where self-esteem was at stake. One attempt followed another, but the car stubbornly refused to give in. If you follow the rules, then Cadillac had already won, or, figuratively speaking, had saved my life more than once. But I didn't want to admit defeat and let it go with a victory at all. I increased the speed, turned the steering wheel sharper — the result did not change: the "four" tenaciously clung to the asphalt and was not going to part with it. The electronics mercilessly sent torque to those wheels where traction was better, and they literally bit into the surface. I had to call our test pilots for help. They, of course, easily turned the car sideways and drove it in a controlled drift. Counter-steering saved the day.

But all these racing tricks are pure recklessness if you look at them through the eyes of an ordinary driver like me. It is unlikely that a sensible CTS4 owner would look for the limit of grip, let alone try to do it in winter. Or perform counter-steering before a turn. But what the car demonstrated gives confidence in their safe future together. And that is perhaps the main thing.