Hits

• Head-turning, stop-in-your-tracks good looks
• Impeccable handling
• Comfortable, quality interior
• Impeccable handling

Misses

• Rear seat legroom not suitable for adults or even children
• Must be cautious when opening the doors in tight parking spaces
• Rearward vision is hampered by stylish design

The CTS Coupe is a lot like a Chanel stiletto heel, entrancing to look at but hard to live with. If you want to get noticed, this coupe will serve you well. On a stretch of freeway in Concord, a sport in a Volvo C60 Convertible came screaming by while mouthing the words “Great Looking Car!” And he’s right, of course, because the CTS looks like an artist’s conception of how a sports coupe should look: close-coupled front and mid sections, truncated rear, heavy frontal rake, oversize wheels and tires, lock and latch less flanks, minimal chrome placed for maximal impact. Among the nicest touches are the V-shaped trunk finisher which mimics the centrally located V-shaped exhaust tips, and the artistic burnished aluminum strut tower brace, hidden under the hood, which connects the front shock towers together.

But like those Chanel heels, there’s a price to pay for the beauty bounty. The slipstreaming good looks of the coupe impose a significant penalty in rear outward vision. Although Cadillac owns up to the drawback by providing a standard backup camera and dash-mounted screen that pops up every time you engage reverse, they’re a poor substitute for actually seeing what’s behind you when you back out of a parking spot or change lanes. The coupe shape also necessitates extra long doors which are difficult to control in tight parking spots. Although Cadillac provides an excellent seatback-mounted latch for gaining access to storage behind the front seats, it’s difficult to reach the latch unless the seat is far forward. Better that the latch were mounted on the outer edge of the seat.

That space behind the front seats is fine for tossing items but not so fine for people. Although the rear buckets are comfortably inclined, there’s no legroom, access is problematic, and headroom is nil. Up front the situation is substantially better, with 10-way adjustable leather seats done up in deviant stitching, with heating and cooling to boot. The seats never fitted me well, however, because the backs were overly hard in the lumber region and unsupportive at shoulder height. But the slick look of the brushed aluminum dash, sweep of Sapele wood trim spears, and distinctive V-shape to the vertical center console make you forget about the shortcomings of the seats.

It’s somewhat harder to overlook the performance shortcoming of the 3.6 liter V6 engine. While this direct injection 304hp motor records decent mileage numbers (18 City/27 Highway), it’s hesitant when you demand maximum performance. Despite being coupled to a 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, the V6 always takes an extra second to jump into action when you floor its throttle. Handling of the coupe is impeccable thanks to the optional $2,090 Summer Tire Performance Package, which includes 19 inch polished aluminum alloys, 245/45 ZR 19 front and 275/40 ZR 19 rear, Continental SportContact tires. There is a price to pay for all that rubber in ride discomfort. The coupe is very stiffly sprung, with hardly any shock compliance on either jounce or rebound. As a result, you’ll feel every road ripple, but you’ll fly on two lane switchbacks.

2011 CADILLAC CTS COUPE

• ENGINE: DOHC, 24-valve, 3.6 liter direct injection V6
• HORSEPOWER: 304hp
• TORQUE: 273 lb-ft
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 18 MPG city/27 MPG highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $50,035

Source: carreview

2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon

Building and structuring a full line of vehicles is tough enough, but then you’ve got to make sure they don’t step on each other in terms of price. This month Cadillac fixed a conflict between its SRX crossover and the new 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon by chopping the wagon’s price by about $1,300.

The move is intended to make room for more differentiation between the models, which offer similar capacity and features, though the SRX’s taller seating position and soft-road capability draws a different buyer than the CTS Sport Wagon’s more handling-focused package. There’s still some overlap, however, and according to a report from USA Today, buyers were seeing the parity of price and quickly looking past the wagon to the SRX.

The 2010 CTS Sport Wagon starts at $39,150 now, reduced from $40,485, while the SRX starts at $34,155 in front-wheel drive trim. Both models can reach up into the lower-$50,000 range when the options boxes are ticked.

Read our first drive review for a close-up look at the details of the 2010 Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. If you’d rather have the 2010 Cadillac SRX, we’ve driven that too.

Bob Lutz with the Cadillac CTS-V

Two months ago we brought you an early report that GM had approved the Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon for production, and today a new report has Bob Lutz stating outright that it will be built.

No official press announcement has yet emerged from GM on the matter, but it’s a logical extension of the V treatment to the nearly-identical CTS Sport Wagon. Lutz has also been the semi-official conduit of information for all things V since the CTS-V Coupe was confirmed and the Sport Wagon variant was first hinted at. So it’s all but sewed up.

The CTS-V Sport Wagon won’t get dumbed down to accommodate its more utilitarian layout, either, with a full 556 stomping horses under the hood and 3.9-second 0-60 mph time. In short, as Lutz put it, you’ll be able to purchase the CTS-V “any way you want.”

There’s a lot of potential for the CTS-V Sport Wagon to steal away buyers from Mercedes, Audi or BMW that wouldn’t go for the sedan. Audi’s fantastic RS6, Mercedes-Benz’s E63 AMG Estate and BMW’s M5 Touring are forbidden fruit Stateside, so those with a hunger for speed in a wagon package will be left with essentially no alternative.

For more on the CTS Sport Wagon the CTS-V will be based on, check out our first drive review.

Source:motorauthority.com