Health & Fitness
Road Test: 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe
Cadillacs can't be fast, can they? With 556 horsepower on tap, the 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe looks to be the king of the luxury car hill.
Disclaimer: Although I work for GM, this review contains my personal thoughts on the CTS-V Coupe. Yes, it’s a positive review, but only because I really, really, really like the car.
The American muscle car has deep roots in Detroit. The formula was simple: select an average, run-of-the-mill family two-door and stuff the biggest engine possible in the front to create a drag strip terrorizing monster. The Pontiac GTO is often cited as the first generation of muscle cars — a brainchild of the legendary John Z. DeLorean, who decided that the Pontiac Tempest didn’t have enough oomph.
Move ahead a few years, to 2002. GM’s luxury brand, Cadillac, introduces its CTS sport sedan, an offering intended as the opening volley in an American assault on the German BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes. For the first two years of its life, it was equipped with a 220hp V6 — a reasonably competitive engine, but hardly a barnburner. What the CTS did have, however, was an excellent sporting chassis in need of an engine to match. GM Performance Division happily obliged this need in 2004 by pairing the CTS with a 400hp LS6 engine sourced from the Corvette Z06 — itself a bargain supercar capable of demolishing exotics.
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Barring a lengthy history lesson, the first generation CTS-V was a true muscle car capable of not only straight line speed, but cornering prowess thanks to its tuned suspension and beefy Brembo brakes. Although a competent competitor to the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz E55, the original CTS-V was criticized for its lackluster interior and issues concerning its rear differential.
In 2008, General Motors began sale of the second generation CTS, equipped with a stout V6 engine and evolved styling over the first edition. In 2009, the Mk.II CTS-V debuted with a mind-boggling 556hp supercharged V8 engine and aggressive exterior form.
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After teasing new forms of the CTS for years, the General finally unveiled two new flavors in 2011: a coupe and a wagon. GM CEO Alfred Sloan once envisioned a marketing strategy allowing for a vehicle to fit “every purse and purpose.” With a base price in the low $60K range, the CTS V-series line caters to Gucci purses, but with the trio of body styles, nearly any purpose is filled — a coupe for sports car aficionados desiring something cushier than a Z06, a wagon for hauling ass as well as kids, and a sedan for everything in between.
My tester was a Radiant Silver 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Coupe equipped with Light Titanium interior, suede steering wheel, Recaro seats, power tilting sunroof, Midnight Sapele wood interior package, and automatic transmission. Thus equipped, the CTS-V prices in at $70,835.
Inspired by an Archer
The latest CTS-V Coupe commercials liken the coupe to an ‘archer, drawing his bow.’ The metaphor is duly noted, as the CTS lineup is unlike nearly any other vehicle on the road, following the Cadillac “Art & Science” design theme first seen in the 1999 Cadillac Evoq concept car.
The exterior of the CTS-V is a myriad of edges and angles, more crystalline than organic. A prominent grille is immediately noticeable, much larger than the base CTS openings due to the enhanced cooling requirements of the powerhouse LSA engine. The aerodynamic front fascia changes lend a suitably aggressive face to the Cadillac, more flashy than comparable offerings from Benz or BMW. A muscular hood bulge further hints at the V-series’ sinister motives.
As the CTS Coupe is based off of the same Sigma chassis as the sedan and wagon, it is undoubtedly a large coupe. The doors encompass a good deal of the bodyside, but with an eye pleasing proportion to the total vehicle length. In profile, the CTS has a distinct appearance, clearly a 2+2, but a profile averaged between the V sedan and a cab-rearward sportscar.
The rear of the CTS-V Coupe takes elements straight from concept cars with its large integrated rear light/spoiler and center exit exhaust tips. The rear taillights evoke imagery of 1950’s Cadillac fins. A personal favorite styling element is the characteristic Cadillac acrylic light tubes contained within the tail lamps — while other luxury marques utilize LEDs, Cadillac employs a pair of LED lights located at each end of a plastic rod to create a continuous column of light.
Handsome 19,” five-spoke wheels wrapped in performance rubber fill each wheel well. Brembo-sourced brakes have become a requisite item on modern performance cars, and the CTS-V conforms to the trend with massive brake discs at each wheel, with silver painted 6-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear. Cadillac also offers a gunmetal wheel package with yellow calipers, an $800 combination that looks fantastic on silver and white painted cars.
Thrones of the Gods
The non-V CTS is already equipped with an attractive, driver-centric interior. The radio, HVAC, and navigation system are controlled with reasonably intuitive buttons requiring little previous instruction to operate effectively — something that is certainly appreciated for a driver wanting to hop in and drive.
The centerpiece of the driver information console is the large 8” touchscreen navigation system screen, nestled in the transition between dashboard and center stack. While other luxury brands leave the touchscreen stationary, fixed in the console, the CTS lineup hides the all but two inches of the screen within the dash when the navigation system isn’t in use. Pressing a button deploys the full screen, allowing for complete control of the radio and navigation via touch controls. The screen itself is attractive, with vivid colors, but given that the CTS is nearing its fifth year of production, the graphics are beginning to appear dated.
When the vehicle is in reverse gear, the nav screen will display the back-up camera; a neat touch, especially on a vehicle with a high decklid such as the CTS Coupe.
While the infotainment system is pleasant to look at, I was disappointed in the audio coming from the standard Bose system in the Cadillac. While it was acceptable for a luxury car, with decent clarity and range, it was a far cry from the Harmon/Kardon system in the lesser Buick Regal.
If you’re in the market for a V, spring for the Recaro seats — it’s a pricey option at $3,400, but well worth the cost. Even after a 10-hour trek from Detroit to Tennessee, they felt comfortable and supportive; gazillion-way (actually, 24-way) seats conform to nearly any body shape or lumbar need. Any kind of aggressive driving requires the added support of the Recaro bolsters. Plus, the seats look incredible in the car. For a further custom flair, the coupe can be ordered with a black/mustard interior scheme similar to the CTS Coupe Concept.
A sueded steering wheel and shift knob are part of a $300 option. While the suede knob is fairly useless on an automatic transmission-equipped car, I found it hard to go back to the smooth leather steering wheel in my daily driver after giving the Cadillac back to the test fleet. The suede on the steering wheel provides an ideal touch surface, giving the right amount of grip without being uncomfortable on long drives, while keeping the wheel from getting too hot during the summer, and too cold in the winter.
Two Lane Blacktop
Even with the Cadillac badge and luxury interior, make no mistake: with 556 brake horsepower under the hood, the hotrod V-series CTS Coupe is stupid fast.
Triple-digit-speeds are easily attainable with a flick of the right foot, and the 6-speed automatic transmission does a fine job of selecting the appropriate gear for the driver’s needs. I am generally dissatisfied with many of General Motors’ automatic transmissions (possibly due to my predisposition towards manuals), but the CTS-V automatic is one of the finest auto transmissions I have driven from many makes. The auto is actually faster than the manual transmission-equipped models; the record breaking Nurburgring run by John Heinricy was performed using a slushbox car.
Despite the stump pulling amounts of power from the supercharged 6.2L Small Block Chevy engine, the V is surprisingly easy to drive around town. The auto shifts smoothly and quietly, with no evidence of shock between gearchanges. When the transmission gear selector is moved to the right into Sport mode, the transmission holds upshifts longer and is more proactive during downshifts, useful in spirited side road driving sessions.
The manners of the transmission set the theme of the dynamics of the rest of the car — taut and eager, yet civilized, with excellent road manners. Daily driving the car was a breeze with the gobs of torque coupled to the smooth transmission. All CTS-Vs are equipped with magnetorheological dampers — MR shocks for non-engineers — providing dual personalities to the vehicle’s suspension with the touch of a button. MR shocks are a fairly recent development in the automotive world, employing electrical charge coupled with tiny metal fragments suspended in the shock absorber fluid to change the jounce and rebound rate of the shock absorber to cater to multiple driving styles.
In ‘Touring’ mode, the V still transmits bumps and road noise to the driver, as befitting a performance car, but every suspension shock is attenuated. 80-plus miles-per-hour on rough Michigan highways is a breeze in the Tour setting; while nearly every surface imperfection is transmitted to the cabin, it’s very manageable. Other performance cars (such as Corvettes) with stiffly sprung suspensions are tiring to drive on rough roads, but the Cadillac handles the roughness with aplomb.
Jekyll turns to Hyde with the selection of ‘Sport’ mode on the MR dampers — the car transforms from a comfortable Grand Touring car to a true sportscar by dialing in the suspension response to the driver, as well as the vehicle response to driver inputs. Previously muted road features get transmitted straight to the driver’s body, and a great deal of body roll is removed from the suspension transients. Given that southeast Michigan isn’t a prime locale for putting a performance car through its paces, I had the chance to take the CTS-V to northern Tennessee — a region of our great country flush with fantastic curvy roads. The V is almost perfection for the driver, delivering a great blend of sharpness and comfort, while allowing the driver a degree of forgiveness when limits are approached. Further confidence is given by the CTS-V’s gargantuan Brembo brakes – they look cool and do their job extremely well. The brakes modulate easily in stop-and-go daily driving down Woodward Avenue, and are just as easy to use on more twisty roads.
The V is rated at 12city/18highway, but with a light touch on the throttle during highway driving, I saw a best of 21.8MPG — still abysmal. Around town, the superhero Caddy resorted to burning whole dinosaurs at 12MPG. A commuter car this is not.
In a world of peak oil, ever-rising gas prices, traffic jams, and carbon emission anxiety, this car has no business roaming the roads. Yet it does – a street terrorizing muscle car in a tuxedo, unmistakably American in execution, and completely unapologetic about its existence.
