Ron Craft Cadillac Chevrolet

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• Interior / Walk Around  »
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• Summary

Walk Around

The Cadillac CTS looks like a modern Cadillac sports sedan should. We think it's a great looking car, with adventurous lines everywhere, especially in the gracefully sloping rear roof section.

The eggcrate grille on the CTS is in keeping with the rest of the Cadillac lineup, plus it provides a generous supply of incoming air for the engine, brake and transmission cooling functions. The large lighting units at the front and rear make good use of LED (light-emitting diode) technology: lots of light and lots of style for little electrical load. The taillights, rear quarter panels and decklid also fit the Cadillac theme. Below the rear bumper are exposed dual exhaust tips.

The CTS-V is distinguished by functional features. The power dome hood, distinctive wheel and tire package, and the bold mesh grille suggest intent for serious driving. The larger mesh grill is for improved airflow. The power dome hood is as small as they could make it. Big brake ducts help cool the big two-piece Brembo calipers. The center brake light reduces rear lift. The dual exhaust provides better performance.

Interior

2010 Cadillac CTS

Inside, the theme is black with brushed metal and chrome accents. It's very contemporary, very modern, very attractive and very space efficient.

The dashboard is fairly low and away from the front seats, which gives an airy and open feel to the car. The center stack on the CTS is beautifully done, easy to read and use, with some interesting readout placements here and there. While the previous-generation model had a cold interior, the current CTS boasts a lovely cabin indeed.

We found the comfortable front bucket seats held us down and in place behind the wheel, including some enthusiastic driving on central California's windiest, curviest roads.

We really appreciated the range of adjustments offered by the power seats and the power steering column. The tilt-and-telescope column offers ultimate comfort and proper driving position. The instrument package is complete, easy to read, and graphically pretty.

In short, we found the CTS cabin to be a nice place to sit and take a drive. The driver is held in securely yet comfortably to properly operate the car, and the passengers enjoy a feeling of ease, confidence and luxury. It's great to see Cadillac offer such a terrific interior.

The AM/FM/XM Bose 5.1 sound system with the 40-gigabyte hard-drive, iPod connector and USB port offers the ultimate in musical enjoyment. Using the navigation screen, it's easy to switch back and forth between the three broadcast and three stored-music formats by simply touching the screen, and the blue display is large enough to be read from the back seat. We think it's one of the best, most fun-to-use sound systems available. Many other luxury cars have audio systems that are fussy or difficult to operate.

The CTS-V has a sportier cabin, with a thick-rimmed steering wheel available in suede. The dead pedal, allowing the driver to brace the left leg, is optimized for racing. A Recaro option is available with 14-way adjustable seats, including bolsters that can be pumped up for hard driving then deflated for cruising.

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