XTS unites glitz and guts
HI SPORT | Cadillac’s powerful V6 engine creates a hum to match the purrs of satisfaction for its elegant styling.
CASEY WILLIAMS | Auto Reviewer
crwauto@aol.com
Cadillacs are for rock stars: They’re glitzy, high-tech and fabulously sexy wherever they slink. Elvis practically gave them away as party favors; hip-hop artists use Escalades as their ‘hoods’ Chevrolets. Unlike competitors that are undergoing reinvention, Cadillacs are Cadillacs.
But they can evolve. Whatever dust-ridden image you have of Cadillac was blown afar with the 556 horsepower CTS-V. Credentials were bolstered by the latest ATS/CTS sport sedans and 2015 Escalade. A new Vsport edition of the 2014 XTS hides a surprise.
From grin to fin, the XTS is pure Cadillac. Up front, light tubes create vertical white razors — bracketing projector headlamps and a black V Sport grille. At the tail are red light tubes that fit perfectly within the accentuated hints of fins. Between are sculpted bodysides, steeply raked rear window, and 20-in. alloys. Satin silver window trim and lighted door handles add class. It’s a very sleek car, almost futuristic — one of the best-designed Cadillacs since the ’67 Eldorado.
A glass cockpit accompanies a cabin trimmed in layers of leather and real wood. It looks and smells like a Coach boutique. Seats are comfy, with heat front and rear, but some thicker side bolsters would go with the car’s attitude. Bose audio, heated steering wheel and ambient lighting that seeps from the dash and doors elevate comfort.
Consumer Reports doesn’t like the CUE infotainment system (big shock), but it is far from the worst. I paired my smartphone in less than a minute, allowing untethered access to calls and streaming audio. You can swipe the center screen like an iPad to scroll. Audio and climate adjust via touch controls, or conjure by voice. A re-configurable LCD instrument cluster shows analog or digital gauges (whichever you prefer). I’m a big fan of the heads-up display, but old-school Caddy loyalists will not be pleased.
While Cadillac was preparing the new CTS V Sport, it found another surprising place for its engine: Inside the XTS. The 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 delivers 410 horsepower and 16/24-MPG city/hwy. All-wheel-drive puts cleats to pavement. There are gaps in the torque curve between 80 mph and 100 mph, and again north of 120 mph (don’t ask). But there’s plenty of thrust to skip the 4,200-lb. sedan down-road.
Keeping pace with the powertrain is GM’s Magnetic Ride Control, which adjusts damping in 5 milliseconds. Corvette and Ferrari use the same technology. While the XTS is no sport sedan, it is no fluffy lush, either. Roads you expect to unsettle the chassis don’t. Operation is near-magical. I prefer the Sport mode, which tightens the steering and suspension for beckoning backroads. Brembo disc brakes halt the fun in a flash.
Safety tech looks out for passengers. An array of cameras and sensors enable Side Blind Zone Alert, Forward Collision Alert/Prevention and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Full-range adaptive cruise control maintains a safe distance on the highway, but can also halt the car and creep through traffic automatically. Safety Alert Seat vibrates if the car senses danger.
The XTS V Sport has a sport sedan’s powertrain, Corvette’s suspension and style that Harley Earl would recognize. Cadillac competes with the Germans and Japanese simply by making better Cadillacs. I keep thinking how sinister it would look painted metallic black with charcoal wheels. Sexy. Like a rock star.
Although list starts at under $45k, the price as tested came to $70,020.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition May 30, 2014.