They say that the third time’s a charm and it certainly has been for the 2014 Cadillac CTS. The all-new third generation CTS has garnered top awards from the four major automotive magazines, winning Motor Trend’s 2014 Car of the Year Award; being selected to Car and Driver’s 2014 10 Best List; being named as a 2014 All Star by Automobile magazine; and chosen as Road & Track’s Best Luxury Sedan of 2013. And, as if those weren’t enough, the CTS was also named a Top Rated Vehicle by Edmunds.com and a Consumer Guide 2014 Best Buy.
We’re pretty sure that all of the attention and awards given to General Motors entry into the midsize luxury class has caused certain German carmakers to sit up and take notice. Indeed, customers are taking notice also, as CTS sales for May 2014 were up 18.2% over May 2013 and yearly sales from January through May of 2014 increased 8.8% over the corresponding period in 2013.
The CTS is all new from the ground up for 2014, the Cadillac “Art & Science” design evolving to give it a fresh look, while at the same time the resemblance of the CTS to the rest of the Cadillac family remains evident.
The interior has also been redesigned by the Cadillac design team and now includes an LCD gauge display that can be changed into four different configurations, Bose active noise cancellation, a head-up display and steering wheel paddle shifters for the eight-speed automatic transmission. The CTS also offers just about every safety, comfort, and convenience feature known to mankind, and can be configured to satisfy any customer demand.
The CTS chassis is based on the rear wheel drive platform developed for the Cadillac ATS which was the first new rear wheel drive platform for Cadillac in over 20 years. Up front there is a multi-link MacPherson front suspension and a five-link independent suspension at the rear. Rear wheel drive is standard on the CTS, but all-wheel drive is available. The Cadillac team accomplished their goal of significant weight reduction—the CTS is the marketing segment’s lightest sedan. Couple this with 50-50 weight distribution, finely tuned suspension, and big Brembo brakes and you have what Car and Driver called “unequivocally” the best handling car in the midsize luxury market segment. In a market segment that includes BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi, that’s a powerful compliment.
The icing on the CTS cake is Cadillac’s powertrain lineup that includes a 2-liter, four-cylinder turbocharged engine producing 272 horsepower; a 3.6-liter V6 making 321 horsepower; and a 3.6-liter, twin turbo V6 with an output of 420 horsepower. The 2-liter is available with a six-speed automatic transmission, while the V6’s have a new eight-speed automatic transmission.
The 2014 Cadillac CTS is a winner by any definition of the term. Motor Trend may have summed it up best when they said, “The CTS’ intended function was to take the fight to BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi—and win. And it has.” ‘Nuff said.
