The Cadillac CTS was first launched back in 2003, and was the posh American carmaker’s attempt at making a luxury mid-size sedan to take on the likes of the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Jaguar XF, and Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The first generation of the Cadillac CTS was built on General Motors’ Sigma architecture, and lasted up until 2007, when it was succeeded by the second-gen incarnation. While the first CTS models were only sold as sedans, by the time the next generation became popular, there were three different body styles available - coupe, sedan, and station wagon. However, the most significant update came about with the third-generation CTS, which was launched in 2013. This all-new model grew in size and its construction made use of GM’s latest Alpha platform. In total, there are seven trim options of the Cadillac CTS that are available for purchase in the United Arab Emirates.
Exterior
Though it has been over half a decade since it first went on sale, the Cadillac CTS still manages to look fresh and relevant when placed next to some of its rivals. However, there’s little doubt that some of its newer competitors do boast more contemporary and sophisticated designs. With that being said, even the CTS’s spiced-up, angry and sinister-looking V avatar looks a little out of date now. But, it does come with a beefed up hood with heat extractor vents, Cadillac’s trademark chrome-laden honeycomb-design front grille with a lower air dam, large air-intake ports on the bumper, protruding carbon-fiber front splitter, and debonair projector headlamps with split LED DRL units.
The CTS-V’s hunkered-down and muscular side profile showcases a pair of vents placed directly behind the front fenders, flared wheel arches, attractive 19-inch alloys wrapped at the rear with 295-section rubber, slender door mirrors, a rising beltline along with smoothly contoured panels, and a sloped C-pillar. The wedge-shaped rear of the CTS-V sports a carbon-fiber spoiler along with a carbon-fiber air diffuser. There’s also the stubby boot, chrome detailing above the license plate holder, and sporty quad exhausts. In terms of size, the Cadillac CTS-V stands 5.019 meters in length, 1.834 meters in width and 1.453 meters in height, and boasts a wheelbase of 2.911 meters. Its boot space is a meager 388 liters.
Interior
The design and layout of the interior of the standard Cadillac CTS feels nice and premium, but lacks any kind of wow factor in lower variants. However, the cabin of the CTS-V is far more visually appealing and exciting. It still gets the same, large and bright fully-digital instrument cluster and the piano black centre stack from the standard model, but adds even more. For example, the V gets special contrast stitching all along the dashboard, doors, seats, arm rests, and almost every visible surface within the cabin. Furthermore, there’s Alcantara on the steering wheel, door pillars and the roof along with magnesium shift paddles behind the wheel, carbon-fiber trim on the door pads and the dashboard, and Recaro seats with thick side bolsters as well.
The CTS-V features automatic and adaptive headlamps, radar cruise control, adaptive sports suspension, sports exhaust, Brembo brakes, remote engine starter, power-operated and cooled/heated front seats, automatic climate control, heads-up display, 13-speaker high-fidelity sound system, surround-camera system, and an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment head unit with built-in navigation.
Engine and performance
The absolutely mental Cadillac CTS-V is powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 motor that pumps out a heartfelt 640 horsepower and 855 newton-meters of shove. Channeled to the rear wheels through an 8-speed slush ‘box, this hooligan of a sedan is capable of blasting past 100 km/h in only 3.7 seconds, and the relentless acceleration ends only once you cross 320 km/h.
Verdict
In the UAE, the Cadillac CTS line-up starts at AED 172,500 for the entry-level variant, costing AED 375,900 for the monstrous and tire-shredding CTS-V.
