On August 18th, I wrote about the 1st generation Cadillac CTS. I was pleasantly surprised by its refinement, comfort, ride control, steering feel, and essentially every aspect of the vehicle. Well, today that ends. Today I drove a 556 horse 2009 Cadillac CTS-V.
This second generation CTS-V was not unlike the 2010 CTS4 that I drove in September, at least from the driver's seat. One notable exception was the little boost gauge on the bottom right side of the speedometer. On the other end of that little gauge was a fire-breathing supercharged LS9, only slightly detuned from its 638 horses in the Corvette ZR1. I wasn't worried until I accidentally engaged 25% of the throttle, and suddenly the cheesy wire mesh grill and lower bumper opening were forgiven.
At 25% throttle, with no intent on my side of stirring any antics, the rear tires of the CTS-V that I was piloting lost the inevitable fight with physics and the entire car started to pivot. I controlled the slide well, but I just learned my lesson; never awaken the beast beneath the hood. At least not on city streets.
I drove the car through the back streets of Bellevue and was amazed that the wailing monster I'd met only a short few blocks behind was a docile house pet with tiny throttle inputs. It was comfortable, smooth, controlled and luxurious. I settled into the Recaro seat and found the A/C control that set the car and seat both to cool. I was feeling a little pampered. Then I found the traction control button on the steering wheel.
The car that had just terrified me was harnessed by traction control! The wheel spinning, power sliding monster was reined in by a computer control nazi. With only 25% throttle, I'd nearly wet myself, and it was in the tamest possible setting.
On the rest of my journey, I jumped up to freeway speed smoothly and effortlessly, passed a slow moving caravan of commuters, and even changed lanes with one of the most finely tuned steering setups I've ever experienced. Exiting the freeway, I found the brakes more than sufficient when the jack wagon in front of me decided to jump into my lane. Smooth, rapid deceleration was only a short pedal pump away.
True, this CTS-V was an automatic. And yes, the flappy paddles behind the steering wheel were laughably poor in execution, but I found that as long as I left the transmission in Drive and let the gas pedal inspire fear, I was good.
Yes, this second generation CTS-V is a ruthless brute of a car. Yes, it is ridiculous and absurd for a daily drive. True, driving one to within 75% of its potential will land you in prison. I won't argue with anyone who questions the sanity of a CTS-V owner.
But as soon as my checking account permits, I'll buy one. And you should too.
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