The Cadillac CTS 3.6 Takes On The Audi A6 3.0T, BMW 535i xDrive, And Mercedes-Benz E350 (Part 4)

Cadillac CTS 3.6

A wise sage once posited that people advertise the trait they are most defensive about. Judging by the new CTS, that maxim applies to carmakers, too.

Cadillac is focusing on providing dynamically competent sports sedans

So often ridiculed in its recent past as the maker of floaty, uncoordinated tanks, Cadillac is focusing on providing dynamically competent sports sedans. With this CTS, it overshoots the mark in the best possible way.

Senior editor Jared Gall noted that if we brought out typical potential customers for these sorts of cars and let them loose on our handling loop, the Cadillac is the only one that would feel any different to them.

Indeed, cycling into the Cadillac from any of the three other cars was a revelation every time. Its handling prowess, innate friskiness, and hair-trigger steering put the CTS in a class of one. It is the only car in this group that didn't just put up with hard driving, it indeed goaded its driver to go faster.

Our car came with the optional magnetic dampers that, combined with shockingly quick steering, turn the CTS into an eager puppy forever tugging at the leash

Fortunately, the CTS stops as well as it goes, halting from 70mph in 158 feet, meaning it comes closer to the performance of a Porsche Cayman S than to these luxury competitors.

The CTS is a brick house. Its structure feels ingot-stiff, which is all the more remarkable since it's also the lightest car in the group - almost 350 pounds slimmer than the BMW. For this, GM engineers are owed much respect.

And the chassis tuners have clearly made good use of the stiff structure. Our car came with the optional magnetic dampers that, combined with shockingly quick steering, turn the CTS into an eager puppy forever tugging at the leash.

The chassis tuners have clearly made good use of the stiff structure

Its demeanor may shock some old-school Caddy drivers as surely as it pleases us. Based on the stiff body control, you wince at the sight of upcoming bumps and potholes, expecting nastiness. But the CTS quietly, serenely dispatches them. Mid-corner bumps are absorbed without nudging the car offline. The Cadillac delivers the fastest ride motions and is the busiest on highway slogs, but only compared with the other, more luxury-oriented rides.

At the track, with stability control off, the CTS proved to be especially eager, wagging its tail enough to slow its slalom time to only the second fastest of the group (41.3mph). Our advice: Leave the stability control on.

Sounds like the winner, right? Well, yes it is, if you love the CTS's stern looks (we do) and want a sports-car chassis.

The Cadillac delivers the fastest ride motions and is the busiest on highway slogs

But there are demerits here. First, the 3.6-liter V-6 is a little coarse in the upper ranges, and its thrust is ultimately not that impressive. The CTS's zero-to-60 and quarter-mile acceleration times tied those of the Mercedes for last, despite its enviable weight-to-power ratio. Its observed fuel economy (18 mpg in mixed driving) was the test's lowest. Its back seat is relatively cramped. The interior greets your eye with a crazed carnival of textures, colors, finishes, and materials all piled on top of each other and surrounding the CUE touch-screen entertainment system, about which the less we say, the better.

But goodness, is it a fun car.