Car and Driver's 10Best a GM smackdown

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Dec 4, 2007 | 03:27 PM

#31

91_z28_4me

Registered User

Joined: Jun 2001

Posts: 4,600

From: Pewee Valley, KY

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threxx

The comparison test was focused moreso on driving experience than luxury or value. That's why the CTS didn't do so hot.

I'm assuming for the 10 best list they looked at the car based on its own merits and didn't try to judge it in a way it wasn't designed to be judged.

The CTS-V can't come fast enough though - Caddy has a great car here but it's being regarded as a softy due to its poor acceleration numbers and so-so chassis dynamics. Caddy really needs to work on offering a little more powerful non -V motor for the CTS to overcome the heft of the new CTS. 300hp doesn't sound bad at all but once you drive it, it's just not enough relative to cars like the G35, IS350, and 335i.

Perhaps a LS3 is needed for a mid power version? I don't know what other engines caddy could use: the 5.3 AFM wouldn't be much more powerful and economy would suffer (as would image), the N* would make the V8 STS completely redundant and wouldn't be much faster, and the LSA will for sure be in the V series.

Dec 5, 2007 | 12:37 AM

#32

teal98

Registered User

Joined: Jul 2001

Posts: 3,132

From: Santa Clara, CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threxx

The comparison test was focused moreso on driving experience than luxury or value. That's why the CTS didn't do so hot.

Not exactly; in fact, not even close. They didn't like the way the 6-speed manual shifted, or the behavior/sound of the engine with the manual.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threxx

I'm assuming for the 10 best list they looked at the car based on its own merits and didn't try to judge it in a way it wasn't designed to be judged.

For 10-best, they had an automatic CTS, and they like the car with an auto much better than with a manual.

This is right in the magazine; I don't know where you're getting this "so-so chassis dynamics" from. Car&Driver actually mention "impeccable chassis tuning" as the first thing in "The Highs".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Threxx

The CTS-V can't come fast enough though - Caddy has a great car here but it's being regarded as a softy due to its poor acceleration numbers and so-so chassis dynamics. Caddy really needs to work on offering a little more powerful non -V motor for the CTS to overcome the heft of the new CTS. 300hp doesn't sound bad at all but once you drive it, it's just not enough relative to cars like the G35, IS350, and 335i.

Okay. So I sort of agree that they should probably have something between the 304hp CTS and a 550hp CTS-V. But then that would totally kill the STS, and they still want to get a few years out of it. Besides, BMW did okay with the (in Europe) 193hp 328i and 321hp M3 back in the '90s.

But I think you're seeing the negative and ignoring the positive. I don't know where you get "softy", "poor acceleration", and "so-so chassis dynamics" from. I certainly haven't seen that in any of the tests that I've read. It's a little porky, and thus, not as quick as top engine in the smaller cars it's compared with. But it's actually priced against the 328i and the C300, and it's just as quick as those, but more roomy inside.